Goodnight Moon
by Uzumaki-sama
Summary: Haven't you ever felt someone staring over your shoulder when nothing was really there? Maybe that thing you thought you saw in the corner of your eye was actually there. There's just so many places a nightmare can hide. Haven't you ever wondered? [RS]
1. Part One: what if the lights go out?

_Author Notes:_

Based heavily off the song "Goodnight Moon" by Shivaree, and other things. For those who've read my other work, you'll notice that this fanfic is quite different from what I'm used to working with. Disclaimers and other information will be at the end of this three-part fic, so I won't ruin any of the fun.

Enjoy, and keep in mind that this is the **_FIRST_** part, so if you're wondering where this fanfic is going, good. :D

* * *

_"The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown."  
-- H. P. Lovecraft_

* * *

_Part One of Three:_ **what if the lights go out?**

-o-o-

"This your first weapon, Sora?"

Polished metal gleamed sharply in the dying sunlight as I delicately turned my new purchase over, studying it. My blue eyes reflected up from the small, shiny blade, like staring at myself in a piece of broken glass. The image was clear, just slightly distorted because of the angle. It made me look... younger.

"Unless you count those plastic shurikens Tidus got for me last Christmas..."

I didn't have to raise my eyes to know that Riku would be giving me a skeptical look, but I did anyway, flashing him a broad, joking grin to mollify his distrust. He was worried about me again. He always worried.

He returned the grin with a teasing smirk though, his hands tightening around our shopping bags with a crinkle of plastic. When he spoke again, his voice was lighthearted and easy. "You know, even if you _knew_ how to handle it... a butterfly knife won't do much good against the boogeyman."

My mirth vanished with his words. He may have been joking, but... I knew exactly what he was implying. And he was right, in a way.

I slowly folded the knife and thumbed the clasp closed, tucking the thing into my back pocket as the two of us continued to walk back to my place. The weather was slightly gloomy today, not a hint of blue in the sky beyond the gray clouds overhead, making everything seem a little... hushed. Soft and surreal. Even my red hoodie looked a little dim in the strange afternoon light. Because the temperature was cool, many people were outside enjoying the oncoming winter season, just mowing their lawns or walking their dogs, or heading to the store for some milk.

With so many people around, one would think I would feel a little safer, but...

I could feel them staring at me—us—as we walked together. Feeling vulnerable, I moved a little closer to Riku.

Amazing how one flippant comment (about the boogeyman of all things!) can remind me of the thing that's always in the absolute threshold of my mind, just waiting for the opportunity to take over my thoughts again. Sometimes I wondered if he did it on purpose, just to pull me out from under my protective masks. He knew me better than anyone else.

He knew exactly what I was afraid of.

It's really true, what they say. The ones who love you the most can be the most cruel. Riku tried to help, but... He can't help me because he doesn't understand. I don't think he'll ever understand.

No one does.

"Hey Riku..." My tone was soft, hardly disguising my suddenly grim mood.

And as usual he grew concerned. "Yeah?" he said, but I knew he really wanted to ask what was wrong.

"Remember... when we were little...." I began slowly, watching the sidewalk, "...people used to wait behind corners to jump out and scare me because they knew I'd scream every time?"

Riku's arm brushed against my shoulder as we walked. He shifted his shopping bags into one hand, using his free one to briefly ruffle my hair. "And I would beat them up every time, yeah," he replied with a hint of a smile in his voice. "Why?"

I managed a small smile, grateful for his touch, his tone, his ability to make me feel better without trying, his... everything. "I think you're the only one who ever stood by me," I said, aware of the subtle burning in my eyes. I lifted a hand to scratch at my forehead, my oversized long sleeve hiding my face just enough. "Everyone called me such a scaredy-cat back then... But now they just think I'm crazy."

Riku's hand slipped out of my hair and he sighed heavily, almost guiltily. Oh yes, he thought that of me too. Everyone thought I was nuts.

"Sora..." he breathed, searching for words. I cut in before he could find them.

"Anyway, you can't always be here with me, right?" I said as I lowered my hand, long sleeve draping past my fingers again. I sounded too cheerful all of a sudden, too fake. "I just need something that's always here, just... to make me feel that much safer."

Even if the mood had been forced, it worked. Riku returned to normal.

"And this dingy butterfly knife is supposed to take my place?" he asked with mock incredulity, his free hand suggestively squeezing my ass where the knife was securely tucked into my pocket. He ignored my little yelp of surprise and leaned in close, throwing off our straight walk. I felt him smirk into my neck, right below my ear, his breath warm against my skin as he spoke honey-voiced, deep. "We'll see about that."

I shivered, my heart pitter-pattering in my chest as I gave a jittery smile. "Tease."

Riku quickly nipped at my earlobe before drawing away with a low chuckle at my red face. He was still laughing when he failed to dodge my playful bop on the head.

Satisfied enough to grin at him, I moved a little away and wiped at my ear to try to ease the tingling in it. Even if it had just been a little touch, it had the power to completely undo my worries. Only Riku had the ability to do that. To make me forget.

"So how was yesterday?" he asked, cutting into my thoughts. "I didn't hear from you last night."

Unfortunately he also had the annoying habit of making me ­_remember_.

He swung his free arm over my shoulders, drawing me back to him so that we were walking in an awkward line again. I smiled up at him and met his longer strides so that we were walking almost normally instead of like a three-legged monster.

"Well, I didn't do much really," I said. "Got home from work and had a run in with you-know-who."

"Your so-called crazy new neighbor?" Riku asked, and I knew from his hesitant tone of voice that he didn't buy my mistrust of the middle-aged misanthrope that lived next to me.

"I swear he's stalking me!" I insisted. We'd had this discussion two nights ago and he hadn't believed me then either. "Yesterday I saw him nailing his windows shut. If that's not suspicious, I dunno what is."

"Nailing his windows shut?" he echoed.

"Yeah, and sometimes when I go outside I see him watching me through his curtains. It's so creepy..."

Riku laughed, loosening his hold on me. "There's probably a good reason. You're just being paranoid again."

"I'm not imagining _this_ though!!" I persisted, a sad whine slipping into my words. God I hated it when Riku of all people tried to reason with me. "You've seen him! He looks like a child molester, and he has that scar on his face—"

"Leon has a scar on his face," he pointed out, smirking briefly down at me before looking straight ahead again. We were getting closer to my place.

"But _Leon_ isn't stalking me!"

A soft sigh was the reply I got, Riku slowly shaking his head. "Sora..." And despite the smile that was still on his face, I had a feeling he was about to give me one of those dumb lectures everyone else gave me.

Riku had always been there for me when everyone else got tired of my supposed illogical fears. He'd always hold my hand and say it was safe, that I had nothing to worry about because he was there too... that he'd make the monsters go away. Now that I was twenty-one though, I knew he was thinking it was about time I grew up.

He didn't believe in closet monsters or ghosts in the attic anymore, but since _I_ did, something had to be wrong with me.

Believe me, I wish it were that simple.

That was his logic nowadays, though. He rarely said it aloud, but he always wanted to... and I always could tell. It's what everyone else told me, or implied. _You're crazy, Sora._ I was used to it by now. But since it was _Riku_ finally thinking it, it really hurt. He was the last person I had, the last person who could put up with me. If he gave up... then I would be alone.

I didn't want to be alone.

"Riku..." I said quietly, lowering my gaze to the overgrown grass along the sidewalk.

"What's wrong?"

Damn. I must have had a tone. This time he'd actually asked it.

"Nothing's wrong," I said. "Not really... It's just..."

What was I trying to say? Riku had heard it all already, so... what was I trying to explain to him to make him understand?

I frowned, raking a hand through my messy hair, trying to form the right words.

"It's just... Haven't you ever just had that creepy feeling at night that, as you walked to your room, there was something following you in the dark?" I asked carefully, but moved on quickly so he wouldn't actually answer. "Or... haven't you ever just leapt into bed after you turned off the light, just in case something really was waiting under your bed to grab your ankles?"

Biting my lip, I paused, already feeling that familiar sick eeriness start to take its hold on me. Great, now _I_ was scaring myself. But just _thinking_ about those things, the things that were so tightly wound up in my daily routine... it made my skin prickle, as though some dark specter was now breathing down my neck.

"A-And haven't you ever walked through your house when all the lights were out, and passed by a window, just expecting to see a scary silhouette outside against the moonlight?" I continued, already losing control of my voice.

It felt like bugs were crawling up my arms, the way the goosebumps were forming, and I shuddered because of it. Riku felt it and gave me a quiet, concerned look, but I didn't want to be comforted. He didn't make a move to, his arm remaining stationary around me.

Swallowing thickly, I forced myself onward. "Or during a thunderstorm... laying awake in bed, curled up, praying that when the lightning flashed again, you wouldn't see a figure hovering over you, just for that split second..." I hesitated, drawing in a long, steady breath. "Haven't you ever just _felt_ someone staring over your shoulder when nothing was actually there? How about on the street...?"

Casting a quick, anxious look behind me, I moved a little closer to Riku again. His arm tightened around me.

"Hiding in your car..." I continued. "Sitting in the tree outside your bedroom window... Your swimming pool, your bathroom, the dark alleyway by the convenience store."

"Sora—"

I cut him off without thought, narrowing my eyes as I lifted my gaze, staring down the street ahead of us. "Maybe that thing you thought you saw in the corner of your eye was actually there. There's just so many places a nightmare could hide," I said. This time I actually turned my head and glanced at him. "Haven't you ever wondered, Riku?"

He was giving me a look I didn't understand.

Very gently he unwound his arm from me and used his hand to scratch at his silver hair, giving a contemplative sigh. He seemed to be searching for the right way to tell me something... like he didn't want to hurt me by whatever he was going to say.

"Sora... how many years have we been together?" he said at last, very gently.

I puckered my lips, wondering where he was going with this. "Two..." I replied. "Almost three."

He shook his head, smiling a little fondly. "No, I mean... how long have we known each other?"

"Oh." I fell silent, trying to think of a time when Riku hadn't been present in my life... and I couldn't. "Um... Since forever," I said.

"Right. And how long have you been scared of monsters and stuff in the dark?" he asked.

I was beginning to understand what he was doing, and I didn't like it. With a small sigh, I played along. "Since I can remember."

"And how many monsters have I seen?"

"None..."

"Right. And how many have attacked you?"

"...none..."

He nodded, reaching over to muss my hair again. "You understand, right?" he asked, his voice rational and sympathetic. "They're just your imagination playing tricks on you. Always have been."

Had he actually given up on me? Is that why he was telling me all this? I'd heard it a hundred thousand times from other people, but... it sounded so much worse coming from him.

Well... at least he hadn't given me the usual loony bin recommendation.

"Are you sure you don't want to get checked up on by a professional?" he added carefully, cutting my hopes short.

Fuck.

"I'm NOT crazy, Riku!" I cried, half-surprised at my sudden outburst. I never raised my voice at him like this, but... hell, if no one else was going to defend my sanity, **_I_** was!

"Sora—" and there was that damn gentle tone of his again! "—No one else I know has had these problems. No matter _where_ you are, you find _something_ to get scared of. You hear or see or _sense_ something unusual and you immediately panic. It's not even a sensible level of fear—sometimes you get so upset you start shaking! I'm sure I don't even see the worst of it!"

"But Riku—"

"Sora," he interrupted, his voice sharp, "something is _wrong_ with you. I've done some research on the internet already, and—"

"Well the internet doesn't always give accurate information, you know!" I cut in. Okay, so it was a weak statement, but I was getting frustrated. My voice was clouded with growing distress, treading the threshold between upset and crying. Undoubtedly Riku noticed it too.

"When you know where to look it does," Riku replied a little more patiently, backing down a little. "These were case studies done by professionals." He fell silent for a moment, and though I kept my hard eyes staring straight ahead (they were watering again), I still saw him turn his head to briefly glance at me. "Sora, stop playing games," he said, and though he had every right to scorn me, his tone was still gentle, almost imploring this time. "You know I worry about you."

My eyes slid shut and I breathed his name, feeling frustrated and angry and loved and grateful all at once.

It's not like I enjoyed being so fucking weak...

"I'm serious," he said quietly.

"So am I," I replied.

When I opened my eyes again, I quickly wiped them with my long sleeves and looked up guiltily, knowing he'd seen me. But he was smiling again.

"You're pouting," he noted.

"Am not."

"Sure you are. Your bottom lip is sticking out."

I glared up at him for a moment, knowing it was only proving his point, before I returned my gaze back to the sidewalk. "Sorry," I sighed. "For... you know..."

"Me too," he replied. I felt his fingers touch the small of my back—just a slight comforting gesture—before he dropped them and switched his shopping bags to that hand. The shuffling of plastic was an awkward song in our silence.

We didn't speak again until we reached the gates of the small housing community I lived in. Creature of habit that I was, as soon as we were past the entrance, I cautiously glanced around. The old lady who lived across from me was outside walking her mean rat terrier. I could hear the jingle of its collar even from this distance. I liked the lady fine, but she had the disturbing habit of dropping by unannounced when Riku was around, and liked snooping into my business... and she was awfully friendly with our new neighbor, the aforementioned creepy child molester type next door.

Mr. Creepy had moved in a few weeks ago and though I've never actually caught him doing anything incriminating like looking in through my window when I'm getting dressed, I _knew_ he was watching me, keeping tabs on me... And I feared the reason why.

"Hey Riku..." I said, glancing up through my bangs at him.

"Yeah?"

"Maybe... Maybe we should think about moving in together."

His step faltered a little and I had to adjust my own just so he wouldn't fall behind. He knew what I was implying with this proposal.

"I mean, Mom got me this place and it gets lonely," I explained quickly, even though I knew he knew what I really wanted. Protection. "...and you have that dingy old apartment. It'd be so much easier if we just... y'know..."

We were at my front porch now, and Riku's hand on my shoulder stopped me half-way up the steps. I slowly turned, my gaze finding his solemn stare, and I had a moment of sad uncertainty that made me consider taking back the offer—what was that look of his supposed to mean? He continued to studied me for a minute, his fingers lightly fidgeting in my unruly hair as I squirmed a little nervously, and then...

He smiled.

Leaning up to kiss my jaw, he teased, "As long as I don't come home and you've put glass in the lawn, or nailed the door shut, or put tacks on the floor to keep the monsters out."

My lips pulled into a happy grin. "Deal!!"

His fingers tightened slightly in my hair as he continued to smile a little fondly, just a soft curve of his mouth. The green of his eyes was so clear at that moment, and I knew he was telling me the truth. He really _did_ want to move in with me. Something warm squeezed at my heart—overwhelming love?—and I felt my eyes tingle with oncoming tears again. Riku saw the look, though, and his smile took on a more reassuring expression.

"Hey... You better open the door before I decide to ravish you right here in front of your crazy neighbors."

I choked out a laugh—a real one—and nodded, swiping at my eyes again with my sleeve as I continued up the steps, Riku close behind me. Ever since I could remember, I'd always been easily worked up, prone to crying in public or passing out if things got too much for me to handle. My mom had always called me delicate, but... I'd always considered it more of a _weakness_. And Riku had always been my spine whenever mine gave out.

As my shaking fingers fished out my keys, I felt his hips press against my back and remain there, my own shield against the elements as I hurried to open the door.

Whenever I'm alone I usually scare myself into a frenzy of unlock-the-door-FAST-or-die, just to see how fast I can, in case one day I really need to race to get inside...

But Riku's support calmed me and I usually didn't have to worry about that routine whenever he was around.

The door unlocked easily, the key in and out in a clash of steel and brass and the solid sound of my knee pushing against the wood to urge it open as I turned the knob. Riku impatiently rubbed up against my backside as I creaked open the door, the song of denim on denim and rustling bags an insistent promise behind me.

He didn't get to ravish me right there, however, for just as I was putting my keys away, the happy metallic jingle of a collar alerted us to a new presence. A large golden retriever came bounding down the hallway, nails clicking against the stone-tiled entryway floor as the silly dog barreled towards the door—and us.

A brilliant smile crossed my face and I stretched my arms, squealing, "Pupu!!"

My dog reared up, planting his paws on my chest and pushing me back into Riku, who held us steady.

I giggled, letting the strong dog tongue lap my cheek raw. "Aww, there's my Pa-o-pu!" I cooed, scratching my blunt nails into the doggie's scalp as he panted into my neck.

"I still can't believe you named a dog something like Paopu," Riku commented from behind me, his lips near my ear.

I smirked, moving my fingers to rub Paopu's chin. "I was hungry at the time," I said, and after pointedly nudging Riku with an elbow, I added, "and besides... You gave him to me, hehe."

A soft whine was the dog's remark, and Riku laughed in response, reaching around me to pet him. "Hey Paopu. You've been a good boy and've been protecting Sora when I'm away, right?"

Paopu gave a sharp bark and I winced at the sound, still grinning as my boyfriend moved a hand to rub behind the dog's ears as well.

"You're so cute I could eat you up," he crooned softly in a voice he reserved especially for my dog and occasionally myself.

I glanced over my shoulder and gave him a slightly disturbed look. "Maybe if my dog was actually made out of fruit, you sicko."

"You're just jealous," he smirked, patting Paopu's head as the dog's tongue lazily lolled out.

God I loved Riku.

And as I returned his grin, I wondered just how he could possibly love someone like me as much as I loved him, because I knew he did... But after all the stress I put us through, I honestly didn't know how he could stay with me and put up with it all, my routines and fears...

After a last head-rub, Paopu lowered himself back onto all-fours, tail swishing excitedly as he paced in front of us. I found myself laughing again, previous thoughts chased away by the light-hearted atmosphere.

"Yes, yes, we'll feed you, silly dog," I assured him, and he gave a sharp bark in reply and bounded off down the hallway.

Riku moved past me to follow the dog, shifting and lifting the bags into his arms with casual grace. I turned back toward the front door with a tired little sigh, noting how the cool AC air of my home was escaping into the warmer outside breeze that kept wafting in, tickling messy hair against my cheeks. As I rested a hand on the doorknob, I peered down the lawn and scanned the street once more, this time from the safety of my own place. I wasn't really expecting to find anything, but—

There he was.

A jagged brown scar stretched completely over his right eye, rather like a mountain range on one of those colorful maps found in high school geography books. White was creeping into his roughly-cut black hair and chin stubble, and his one good eye gleamed darkly over at me, murky brown swirling with mysterious intentions. A long, heavy-looking pair of branch cutters was held in only one of his large hands, his strong fingers easily carrying its weight up as he stood in his driveway, black muscle shirt wet and clinging to him from whatever it was he had been doing.

Immediately recognizing the slightly panicked, nervous flutter inside of my gut, I tore my gaze away from my creepy neighbor and quietly closed the front door. The dead bolt's metallic slide was a reassuring sound, as was the jangling chain and the click of the other locks being pushed into their proper places. But even then, a locked front door didn't seem like enough... I could practically still feel him staring at me.

Riku's words from earlier came to me, _"You're just being paranoid again,"_ and I forced my suspicion down again, for now, and moved away from the entryway. My eyes darted up to check the ceiling—nothing there as always—before I hurried down the empty hallway, eager to be in Riku and Paopu's company again.

The bowl of dog food was already filled by the time I made it to the kitchen and Paopu was digging in, his collar clacking against the side of the plastic bowl almost desperately as he chowed down.

Riku, who was now pulling out things from the fridge to make lunch, had already unpacked his new purchases and set them out on the table. He was the type of guy who, as soon as he got his paycheck, would spend all his money on crap. Fun crap, but still crap. Today he had binged on videogames, namely his new obsession—DDR, or Dance Dance Revolution. One of the things that always irked me about Riku is that he had the uncanny ability to be great at almost everything he tried, whether it was cooking, debating, wrestling... videogames.

Not that those things separately weren't great, but Riku managed to beat me at everything and it got rather irritating sometimes. Anyway, DDR was getting to be one of those things that I'd discovered first and he quickly surpassed me in. It's probably a good thing I loved him so much, otherwise I'd hate him for being so damn perfect.

Then again, it's a really good thing he loved _me_ so much. He spent almost every night at my place not just because I asked him to, but because he wanted to. I knew he loved staying up into the wee hours of the morning making loud racket with me. I hated silence, so I usually tried to keep myself occupied with loud things like music on the highest volume, noisy action movie marathons, videogame competitions, Very Good Sex...

He liked to claim we were scaring the monsters away when we did those things, but I knew Riku was doing his best to keep my mind from wandering. It worked well, that's for sure, and because of that I was really looking forward to Riku moving in. Whenever Riku's unavailable to stay the night with me, it gets too quiet and I end up scaring myself too much to sleep. With Riku here, living with me... Things would be so much better.

"Do you want Muenster or those packaged squares?"

I glanced up, realizing I had zoned out staring at the stuff on the table. Riku had a slightly amused smile on his face as he watched me; various food packages and bottles were cradled in one arm as his other hand remained stuffed in one of the refrigerator drawers where the cheese was kept. Oh, right. Riku was making lunch.

"Muenster," I replied, moving past the kitchen's island to stand next to him. In the still air of my home, I could smell Riku's subtle, rich cologne, and it filled me with such a warmth that I couldn't help a wide, goofy smile as I leaned against him, inhaling more of his scent.

"You okay?" Riku laughed as he tried to move away, only to have me lean with him, making both of us stumble into the nearby counter. He put a hand against my shoulder to push me away a little so he could kick the fridge closed. "I _do_ need to make lunch, y'know!" he pointed out

My smile spread and I wrapped my arms around him, leaning my chin into his clavicle. "Love you."

"And you'll love me more after you get about four sandwiches in you, I know," he smirked, untangling an arm to reach into my back pocket. He pulled out my newly-purchased butterfly knife and brought it forward as he set all the lunch items on the counter. "Mind if I use this?" he asked.

"Nah," I replied as I let him go, curious. "Know anything good with it?"

He shook his head as he wiped the blade on a nearby towel. "Not really. Just one move. Ice pick drop or something."

"Show me?" I asked, moving to lean against the counter adjacent to him.

"Well..." he began, pausing to study the knife for a second. A serious look crossed his face as he held it up. "First you have the blade, duh. The curvy part under the blade is the guard..." He moved his fingers to show me. "This area between the handles is the tang, and the end of the handles are called the pommels. And of course you know what the latch is."

I nodded, not really knowing why I needed to know the different parts of my new knife.

"Right." Riku looked up at me and smiled. "The ice pick drop. When the knife is closed, like this, make sure the tang faces down and the latch faces you." This he pointed out to me. "Hold the knife in your hand in a sort of thumb's up position..." Which he was doing. "Flip the latch with your thumb, let the handle swing free..." The latch flipped down, the handle swung free, and all of a sudden Riku snapped his wrist, sending the handle flying with a sharp rap of metal on metal— "And then you catch it," he finished smugly, brandishing the open knife with a proud air.

I gave a sheepish grin. "It'll take some practice."

Barking out a laugh, Riku shook his head and returned to making out sandwiches, using the knife to slice meat, vegetables, and bread. "It cuts really well," he commented after a while, turning to flash me a warm smile. "Maybe it'll be able to nick off the boogeyman's toe."

"Care to try it out with one of your own?" I replied wryly.

"I thought you liked my toes though?" he said as he planted two large sandwiches for me onto a plate.

"I do." I took the plate and leaned close into him as he began to suck ranch dressing off his fingers. "So what's the plan for tonight?"

He casually pointed to the dining table where his new purchases sat. "Exercise."

And I knew he wasn't joking this time.

-o-o-

"You know you're supposed to wait like twenty minutes after eating before doing any strenuous activity?"

"Oh, come on, Sora! Don't tell me you're giving up already!"

"Nngh..."

We'd been 'dancing' on Riku's squishy-foamy-crinkly new DDR pads for the past hour and a half after we had finished lunch. I'd set up the Playstation in my room the other day, so that's where we were playing... and while _he_ was happily daring to try the harder songs, my feet were starting to refuse to move when I wanted them to and I was beginning to royally suck at this game. The flashing arrows drifting up the screen taunted me with each _Boo_ and _Almost_ that I was getting for my slowing reflexes, but Riku was just dancing away without care, bare feet moving with inhuman ease to a song called Max 300. I was beginning to hate the sound of drums and feet sliding on plastic. Maybe I should have cut off one of his toes after all.

Just as I collapsed onto the pad, feeling as though I couldn't move another muscle, the song ended and the game's annoying announcer congratulated Riku on his amazing dancing skills.

"I think I have a cramp," I groaned, throwing an arm over my eyes as I flopped onto my back, feeling my heart pounding in my chest as I sucked in sweet air. My face was on fire and hair thick with sweat clung to my cheeks; I had removed my red hoodie earlier, and the shirt I'd had under it was now soaked, only slightly cool against the flushed skin of my chest and stomach.

After checking our grades on the song—_A_ for Amazing!Riku and _D_ for Dead!Sora—Riku glanced down at me, smirking. "We've been playing for nearly two hours now. You can't blame your cramp on food anymore."

"I can blame it on _you_ though," I muttered.

His smirk widened. With the kind of elegance only Riku had, he stooped over and grabbed a bottle of water he'd been using. "Drink some," he said, dropping it next to me before tapping his foot on the pad to pick a new song.

I chugged the slightly warm water down gratefully before relaxing completely. The empty bottle rolled lazily out of my grasp and I released a heavy sigh, swinging my twiggy limbs out with lethargic grace, pointing my chin in Riku's direction to watch him.

Silver hair clung sweetly to his sweat-dampened neck, the flush on his cheeks reminding me of something I'd rather be doing. The bass of the dance music thrummed in a mesmerizing rhythm between us. My eyes traced every movement of his animated body and admired every curve and dip of his chest, his abs, his lean back, and every ripple of muscle as he moved from arrow to arrow, the gleam of his intent green eyes reflecting the vibrant light of the game from the TV. Even the way his chin was set in concentration... Even the way his own shirt stuck to him with perspiration... Everything about him that moment was gorgeous.

A lazy, pleased smile stretched across my lips as I watched without really watching, my thoughts drifting off into more licentious things. I didn't really notice when Riku finished his round of songs, but I did notice when he suddenly pounced on me.

I jerked out of my daydreaming with a loud squeal of laughter, immediately falling into a mad squirming frenzy as Riku's hands attacked all of my sensitive spots, tickling stomach, neck, armpits, thighs, _everything_ as I tried desperately to fend him off with my feet. Unfortunately he was used to my weak fighting and knew how to get around my mean kicks. Through the mess of tangled limbs and hair and clothes, I saw his pretty green eyes glittering with amusement, and I was laughing right back... at least until he tweaked a nipple and I managed to elbow him in the ribs for it.

Giggling, we rolled around together on the DDR pads, and somewhere in between the game's demo cycling through once or twice, our playful wrestling turned into something a lot less innocent. Somehow, as always, he managed to top me. The soft plastic of the DDR pads crinkled under my shifting weight, my body refusing to stay still under my boyfriend's insistent hold.

"Cramp gone?" he teased as his hips rolled down into mine, rasping our denim prisons together.

Through gritted teeth I managed a strained reply. "What—do _you_—think?"

He simply smirked, green eyes gleaming with evil intentions.

Sometimes Riku got into Uber-Dom mode and he won't even warn me before he attacks and has his way with me, and when it's all over I'm left boneless and giddily pleasant wherever it is he ravished me. Right now he was getting there, and despite my better judgment, my body was already responding to his damn dominant male antics.

It was too late though. I briefly wondered how comfortable these game pads were going to be as bedding... and that's when Riku just dove in and helped himself. In two seconds flat he had my jeans undone and down to my knees, one of his hands already shoving my shirt up to expose my boyish chest. A wide, delighted smile pulled at his lips as he admired me for that second—it was the kind of look a giggling Siren would give a guy before bashing his head on a rock.

I swallowed thickly. Riku licked his lips and arched his back, dipping his head in low to thrust his tongue into my mouth, proceeding to rape it thoroughly, though it was actually pretty consensual considering I fought to meet every wax and wane of his rhythm with my own, our wet kissing noises only being outdone by the damn DDR announcer.

I abruptly pulled away from the kiss with a long whine. "Riku—I can't make out with that guy yelling in the background!!" He tried ignoring me, his teeth nibbling my bottom lip with strange affection, so I decided to try negotiating. I slid a knee up to nuzzle the inside of his thighs. "Riku. TV. Now."

He released a slightly annoyed growl and bit down on my clavicle as he pushed himself up just slightly to scan the room for something. With the laziness of a cat who'd been fed an entire can of treats, Riku stretched a long leg out and wiggled his toes against the remote control not too far away. Somehow he toed the power button and the television snapped off with a hiss of static.

His green eyes regarded me with a new level of smugness.

Oh yes, he was in one of his _moods_ and I was going to be tortured for it.

I kissed the smirk off his face and our hasty tumble on the game pads continued.

-o-o-

_Click. Whiiirrrrr...._

The Playstation's mechanical song startled me awake, a foreign sound in my large room that easily sang like a monster's purr in the darkness—and dark it was, the sun having sometime set after Riku and I had collapsed together on the bed (after two rounds on the floor and one on the mattress). Across the nearly dark room, the electronic green eyes of the entertainment center stared at me, and aside from their glow the only light in the room came from the ribbon of moonlight falling through the window nearby. It stretched across the pillows and over Riku's pale face, a little sign of hope against the ghouls of my imagination that were beginning to awaken as well.

It was cold. That may have been due to my lack of clothing at the moment, but something about my home at night... unsettled me... even _more_ than usual. Even with Riku's warmth wrapped comfortably around me and his whispering snores tickling my ear, I still felt vulnerable.

The little swirls of colorful shadows dancing before my sight were writhing ants, making every obscure silhouette in the darkness a frightening figure in my mind. The shadowy stack of DVDs across the room, precariously leaning to one side like a mini Tower of Pisa, looked as though it were swaying on its own. Articles of clothing strewn about the floor and furniture deformed whatever they lay on. The papasan chair twisted into a monstrous blob, the towering bookshelf became an ideal place for a murderer to hide by, the shimmering square of light on the opposite wall was actually a spirit's face watching me, waiting for me to close my eyes again...

I shuddered, my thin frame feeling so suddenly delicate against Riku's. Carefully I pulled away from my boyfriend's hold and moved to the side of the bed, cautiously glancing over the mattress edge. Only a stray sock lay crumpled there—nothing was waiting to grab my ankles. Nonetheless, I was always wary of the large empty space between the bed frame and the floor. When my feet touched the cool, cushiony carpet, I quickly danced away from the bed, feeling my heart flutter in my chest as I glanced behind myself just in case there really _was_ something there.

From his resting spot on the game pads, Paopu lifted his head with a jingle of his collar, nose pointed in my direction as though silently telling me there were no monsters in the room. Just in case, I glanced up, seeing only the lazy spinning of the ceiling fan, its dangling chain a swaying garden snake in the darkness. The closet door was also still closed tightly—a reassuring sign even though I knew it was silly to be wary of something like that.

Shivering again, I lowered my eyes and quickly moved to a pile of clothes on the floor, bending down to sift through it, praying that nothing was making a nest of it and would suddenly bite down on my searching fingers. Thankfully I found what I wanted quickly—a loose pair of sleeping pants, dark, drawstring, and Riku's—and even though my mind was warning me that I'd spent too long with my back to the open room, I slipped the pants on anyway, albeit quickly. Not even gracing the dark room with another glance, I hopped over a pile of books on the floor and hurried to the bathroom, wanting to wake myself up a little more so my mind wouldn't play as many tricks.

But I paused in the threshold as I creaked the door open.

Oh God, how I hated my bathroom at night. The overhead vent and small, confined space made it the coldest room in the house, but I always felt like I was being watched in there, as though a spirit really did dwell in the bathroom and was waiting for me to take too long to turn on the lights. It didn't help that the room had a second door that led out into my small backyard—I kept _that_ door locked and dead-bolted at all times, with a heavy laundry basket sat in front of it just for extra precaution. Though, at the moment, that tall rectangular shape in front of the door looked a bit like a person squatting...

Another thing I absolutely hated about the bathroom was the large mirror bolted to the wall perpendicular to the door. I always focused on it when I entered the bathroom, recalling jokes about Bloody Mary that my junior high friends used to tell each other just to scare me. I'd never tried saying anything one hundred times to see if any ghastly specter would appear in my mirror and kill me, and I wasn't about to try, that's for sure.

Nevertheless the mirror was there, and through the pitch black inkiness of the room I couldn't see my reflection yet. For a moment I imagined what I would do if I heard the kind of rattling breath straight out of one of my nightmares, or if I saw those hollowed black eyes, long twiggy hair, wide split jaws, and sickly grey-green skin of the dead in horror movies, fading out of the darkness right before my eyes...

What would I do, if I encountered that kind of hell?

Urgh, I already felt the icy creepiness squeezing at my gut.

Sucking in a deep breath, eyes gazing apprehensively at the mirror—I switched the light on.

My eyes focused on my reflection and saw—

Nothing.

My body sagged with relief as my heart continued to thunder in my chest.

I was alone... as always. Thankfully. No matter how many times I went through these nightly rituals, I always managed to get myself riled up for nothing.

"There's no such thing as monsters and ghosts, Sora," I breathed to myself.

The deep, despairing groan of old pipes answered me as I twisted on the tap, welcoming the spitting hiss of water in my trembling hands. The water was icy against the skin of my face, the perfect therapy to clear my head of the sleepy fog haunting me. I glanced up quickly through wet bangs to study myself in the mirror, frigid droplets crawling down the curves of my face.

Still nothing behind me.

It was habit to check, always, just in case. I ­_hated_ mirrors. I hated the unsettling chill I got whenever I stared at myself in them, whenever I looked over my own shoulder and expected something to be standing there, in the reflection or not.

Shuddering, I snatched a nearby towel and wiped my face, never tearing my eyes away from my own blue gaze.

Something felt off... and I didn't like it.

I winced when I heard the bathroom door click shut—it was a normal occurrence for the doors in my home to swing close on their own, but that didn't make it any less disturbing each time it happened. Dropping the towel and shutting the tap off again, I pulled the door back open and hesitated just in the doorframe, shakily turning my head to study my reflection one last time.

I always had to turn the light off while facing the mirror, just to reassure myself I was still alone when the lights went away.

My fingers touched the cool plastic light switch and flipped it down, and the bathroom was plunged into the thick darkness once again. I stuck my foot out so the door wouldn't close on me, and, with a lingering sigh, I turned away from the mirror and reentered the bedroom, pausing a second to let my eyes adjust.

The closet door was still closed.

Nothing was on the ceiling, just the fan and the steady _clink-clink_ of its dangling chain.

For a brief moment my heart skipped a beat, something pale moving in the moonlight out of the corner of my eye—a ghost? But it was only Riku stirring on the bed, his soft silver hair and pale skin reflecting the incandescence of light from the window. His hand touched the space where I was supposed to be laying and he slowly raised his face, eyes blinking blearily open to see where I had gone.

Paopu gave a lazy, breathy yawn before resting his head back on the game pad, crinkling the plastic. It reminded me of what Riku and I had been doing a few hours before.

Carefully I made my way through the room, feeling safer knowing Riku and my dog were present and awake, and I stopped in front of the entertainment center, reaching down to switch the Playstation off. It gave a sad, soft whirr as its light went out.

Now would be the right moment for an evil spirit to show up behind me. Wasn't that how it happened in movies? When the main characters were just beginning to feel safe?

My back straightened and I turned, holding my breath.

"Sora?"

I released a sigh. Riku was sitting up in bed now, one hand scratching languidly at his messy silver hair.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"Left the Playstation on..." I replied easily.

"Come back to bed," he said, voice soft. "It's cold."

"I know..."

I stepped over Paopu and some clothes, leapt onto the mattress over the monster under my bed, and crawled towards my spot next to Riku. Shuffling back under the covers, I turned towards Riku who was casually reclining back into a laying position, looking confused. I felt his warm hand touch my bare chest.

"You're so cold... and a little clammy..." he noted, threading his fingers in my hair and pulling me closer. His other hand pulled the comforter up to our shoulders, enveloping me in a cloud of warmth and comfort. "Did you see or hear anything?" he wondered.

I shook my head. "No... Just a bad feeling."

His arms curled around my waist and I moved closer, resting my head under his chin, liking the way his breath tickled my eartails. "Just try to get some sleep, okay?" he whispered. "I'm here."

But despite his comforting presence, I still wished it were morning already. I wanted to see the sun peeking through the window, not the moon's pale face. Even as he drifted off to sleep again, my eyes remained open, watchful and wary, regarding the shadows of my room with a stirring imagination.

No, it wouldn't be too soon until I said goodnight again.

* * *

_To be continued..._


	2. Part Two: and then the wind just starts ...

_Author Notes:_ When I was writing this chapter, my three-year-old niece came up to me carrying a small mirror and chanting something sounding like a satanic mantra. If you have never experienced something like this, let it be known that it is quite creepy indeed.

_Some notes to make:_ I do not own a dog, so Paopu may be off. I don't have a shower curtain. And yes, some of Sora's fears are from experience, but I don't think them everyday and not all at once...and others I got from friends. Yup. Again, disclaimers will be after the fic so as to not spoil anything.

Also, a huge thanks to Dark Ki for putting up with the wait, and for doing a great job beta-ing!

* * *

_"Stress is when you wake up screaming,  
and then realize that you haven't fallen asleep yet."  
--Unknown_

* * *

_Part Two of Three:_ **and then the wind just starts to moan**

-o-o-

The sun took its time to greet me... but by now I was used to the wait. Deep shadows still occupied the small yard outside my window as I began to stir from my position next to Riku.

The moon was gone, settling my room in an eerie blanket of darkness... but despite the uneasy state I'd been in all night, I was ready to welcome the oncoming day. My imagination was still too restless to even consider sleep, and dawn would be arriving soon.

I could barely see Riku next to me but I definitely felt his warmth, one of his legs curled between mine, and a hand resting on my hip, feeling like a touch of sunshine against my chilly skin. With a yawn, I began to stretch against his firm body, only to wince—though I might have momentarily forgotten yesterday's events, my body hadn't. The familiar ache in my muscles and burn down below reminded me just how much passion Riku really had whenever we did it.

Three times. Urgh... I'd be feeling that all day, on top of my insomnia.

A hot shower sounded really nice right now, and would at least clear my mind a little.

Carefully slipping out of Riku's embrace, making sure not to wake him, I threw my legs over the edge of the mattress. The bed shifted a little and so did Riku, who nuzzled into the empty space I had left behind. I glanced back at the pale figure in my bed, admiring his lazy position on his stomach, arms stretched out where I had been laying.

He wouldn't be waking for another hour at least. My body was already missing his warmth, shuddering a little in the cool air.

Once again hopping away from the crack under the mattress frame, lest something was still waiting for me under there, I made my way across my messy room, past Paopu who had camped out on Riku's DDR pads. As I passed, he lifted a leg and gave a half-hearted kick at an ear before settling back down to sleep, his collar jingling a little in the quiet air.

Well, my dog obviously deemed my room to be safe, otherwise he'd be up and growling at things. Paopu was very protective of me sometimes, and though usually nothing was there to warrant his defensive behavior, I was very proud of my dog's loyalty. I knew he saw and heard more things than we gave him credit for. All animals do.

Brushing a hand through my messy hair, I stifled a yawn as I shuffled to the pile of laundry on the floor. I grabbed a towel, pushing down crazy thoughts of axe murderers, ghosts, and monsters. Nothing was going to grab my hand and pull me into the dark... or eat my liver.. or whatever.

Riku was right. I probably needed help... I had no basis for my fears—they were all irrational, exaggerated, and childish. I needed to stop scaring myself and thinking these things were real. There was nothing out to get me, nothing _at all_. There'd been no evidence all my life, yet I was still freaking myself out like some grade-school kid.

Last night, as I lay there wondering what was hiding in the shadows, I'd decided to put more effort into controlling myself. If this paranoia of mine was getting so bad that _Riku_ was getting annoyed with it, it was definitely getting out of hand. I didn't want to scare away my last backbone. I had no idea what I'd do if Riku left me and told me to grow up.

What if I was really crazy?

Clutching the towel to my chest, I hurried to the bathroom, shaking my head free of my worried thoughts.

This time I hastily reached my hand out, facing toward the large mirror, and flipped the light on. For a moment the bright light stung, but I squinted through the sudden illumination to study my reflection, feeling myself relax a fraction when I saw nothing else in the bathroom with me. And, just in case, I checked behind the door too.

I tucked my towel under my chin and pulled off the drawstring pants I'd put on earlier, tossing them in the nearby hamper—the one blocking the creepy door that led outside. Shivering in the frigid air, I draped the towel on the nearby bar and quickly got into the tub, pulling the shower curtain closed.

I turned the tap on and sighed in relief, welcoming the biting heat against my cold skin, loving the tingling nerves and small tremors that coursed through my body. Tilting my head into the flow of water, I smiled, letting the warm, liquid silk slide over my tired muscles, waking my body up for the approaching day.

Though I was running on no sleep from the past two nights and I knew my day would suffer for it, I wouldn't let it cause my thoughts to run negative. I tried to focus on the pleasant things from yesterday that had nothing do with my creepy neighbor or my wild imagination. My body was still brimming with all that love from my night with Riku and I wanted the happy buzz to stay with me for a while longer, so I kept playing it over and over in my mind. While we saw each other mostly every day, usually it was only for a little while. Yesterday had been our first time really _together_ in a while...

Well, that would all change now that Riku was going to move in with me, wouldn't it?

A rush of childish excitement danced within me and I suddenly grinned, curling my arms around myself.

Yeah... Even if Riku thought I was nuts... I'd be okay with him around. Things were going to get a lot better this way.

I continued on with my shower, thinking about all the good changes that were about to take place in my life. With Riku around, it'd be easier to sleep, that was for sure. I wouldn't have to worry about calling him at five in the morning when something scared me, because he'd be right there next to me to cling to... And instead of being anxious all the time by myself, he'd be there to talk to, to distract me, to help me relax.

And for the sake of _his_ sanity, I was going to do my best to get better.

After washing myself, careful about cleaning my sore areas, I did my hair. Habit kept me far from the drain, though—even though I'd resolved to start changing for Riku, I knew a lot of my habits were going to be hard to break, especially the little things, like being wary of the bathtub drain.

That was something I could thank our friend Tidus for. When we were little, he'd been obsessed with scary movies, and one of the ones that had always stood out in my memory was _It_ with that freaky-ass clown that lived in the sewers. After being forced to watch it with my friends, I hadn't been able to take baths alone for _months_.

Urgh, even thinking about that damn clown and his balloons gave me the creeps. I always tried not to look at the drain, for the fear of seeing something coming out of it. Even standing near it made my skin crawl.

Thinking about it, it was probably Tidus' fault I was so scared of everything now... But then, he and Riku had seen the same movies I had, and yet they were perfectly normal.

Well, whatever.

I moved on with washing my hair, working my fingers through the few tangles I found. When my hair was wet and heavy, it came to my shoulders, and didn't get to its usual messy form until I bothered towel drying it. It always amused me to watch _Riku_ do his hair, because he was always so tedious about making it look so perfect.

Snerking at that, I tilted my head back to rinse the conditioner out, feeling the water beginning to cool.

That was kind of weird... I hadn't been in the shower that long, had I?

Shrugging it off, I skimmed my fingers through my wet locks, deciding to finish up quickly. Soaking in the last of the warmth from the shower, I stood there a moment, wringing my hair, just listening to the rush of water and watching steam swirl around me.

I felt a brush of chilly air against my legs, and snapped immediately out of my pleasant trance, turning in time to see the shower curtain shifting a little to settle back into place—like something had been there to rustle it. Cold air swept in again and my body gave a shiver in protest.

I stared at the shower curtain, expecting it to move again, wondering what the hell had moved it in the first place. Had I accidentally brushed against it and not noticed or something?

Then again... it might have just been the air conditioner kicking in. Riku might have turned it on before bed, which would explain why the room had been so cold.

Still, the shower curtain scared me.

Scenes from _Psycho _invaded my thoughts—creepy silhouettes and all—and I sighed, dragging a hand through my hair again. Not for the last time, I wished I had a sliding glass door instead of a stupid shower curtain. I turned the water off and pulled the damn plastic back to assure myself no one else was in the room with me.

"You're just being stupid, Sora..." I muttered to myself and lifted my head, gazing through the lingering clouds of steam. The mirror over the sink was foggy.

I climbed out of the shower and grabbed my towel, hurrying so I didn't have to stay in the cooling air for too long. When I was mostly done drying myself, I twirled the soft towel around my waist and moved to the mirror. With a swipe of my hand, I cleared the mirror to see my reflection.

I was still alone.

Forcing on a small smile, I studied myself in the mirror, feeling really small and vulnerable in just my towel. I looked a lot younger than I was, with my hair wet and down like that... and I really did have a reedy body. Why did Riku even like me?

I held back a pout and opened the bathroom door. I switched the light off before turning away from the mirror. Moving back into my bedroom, I shivered, but I didn't want to turn off the fan because Riku liked sleeping with the room cold.

When my eyes readjusted to the darkness, everything was as I had left it, with Riku sprawled out on his stomach, Paopu snoring peacefully on the game pads, and the closet door still closed... But the sky beyond the window was beginning to gray.

Careful not to make much noise, I went to my laundry pile and pulled out what I wanted. I tossed my towel onto the papasan chair and began tugging on blue plaid boxers, which settled at my bony hips because they were too big. Next was a girl's spaghetti strap night shirt.

Yes, girl's. Tidus had bought the shirt as a sort of gag gift when Riku and I had first gotten together and publicly announced our homosexual relationship. He'd spent months teasing the hell out of us, especially me because he _knew_ I was going to end up being the girl of the relationship. He'd buy us gag gifts all the time, from edible underwear to girly things for me, but I had actually liked this gift.

The night shirt had a cute crescent moon centered on the chest, and it was really comfortable despite the fact it was sorta small and had an annoying habit of riding up.

When I was done dressing, I left the bedroom, turning on every light I could, checking the locks on windows and doors as I headed to the kitchen. Nothing seemed out of place in the house, and the attic door was secured tight.

Good.

Breezing through my morning routine, I returned to my bedroom about fifteen minutes later. Dawn was definitely evident at this time, and my room looked almost surreal with the soft gray glow of morning highlighting it.

I always thought it was kind of weird how most childhood fears stemmed from the bedroom, especially under the bed. Like there was a monster that lived there and liked to grab ankles, or there was a mass murderer waiting for you to lie down so he could stab you through the mattress with his long knife... things like that. I had those fears, and every other one out there.

The closet scared the hell out of me.

Ignoring said monster under my bed, I climbed in and stretched out on my belly next to Riku, my feet toward his head. I set my big plate of buttered toast on the mattress and pulled open the heavy book I had brought with me. Damp hair hung down the sides of my face as I leaned forward on my elbows to read, munching on my breakfast.

My bed was rather ancient—only soft in some spots where my body had worn it in over the years, so when I shifted positions, the whole bed shook. I tried not to move too much during the night, knowing I'd freak myself out with the shaking bed, and sometimes when Riku spent the night, his company was more detrimental that way.

Maybe we'd get a new bed when he started moving in. I knew he'd want to wear it in immediately, too...

Usually, on mornings like this, I'd be in the kitchen, slurping down a huge mug of coffee, but because Riku had spent the night, I planned on spending as much time as I could with him. Despite my eagerness to be with him, though, I didn't even hear him stirring from his sleep.

I nearly choked on a bite of toast when there came a sharp pinch at my ass.

"Gah!"

I turned slightly to glare at my now awake boyfriend, who was smirking at me over the curve of the pillow in his arms. He looked sleepy and very smug with himself, one of his hands tugging at the hem of my boxers.

"If this is what I get to see every morning when I wake up, then I'm packing my stuff tonight and moving in tomorrow," he commented in a rather amused voice, his fingers beginning to creep up the inside of my leg.

I shifted a little away from him, feeling my cheeks warm. "Dumbass. You scared the crap out of me," I replied, wagging my toast at him. "You know you're supposed to be obvious about waking up."

Riku's smirk widened at the pout that was probably on my face. "You're so molestable though." And as if to further his point, his hand tried creeping up my nightshirt next.

"Muu, Riku..." I whined, wriggling slightly and shooting him a dirty look. "I have class in two hours and I'm gonna need to be able to walk and swim for my job, y'know!"

Despite the mischievous gleam in his eye, Riku pulled his hand away and waved it, releasing a sleepy, breathy chuckle. "Yeah, yeah," he said airily, shifting on the bed so that he was laying in the same direction as me. "What're you reading...?"

"Some self-defense book that I borrowed from Kairi," I replied, offering a piece of toast to him.

He took it and nuzzled his cheek against my shoulder, biting into the bread and speaking with his mouth full. "Mm, from Kairi? Self-_defense_?"

"Yeah." I relaxed against him, smiling a little. "She had to buy it for the course, but didn't end up using it at all," I explained. "She only kept the book because she figured she'd keep up with the exercises after the semester was over, but..."

"She didn't," Riku guessed easily, already finishing up his toast.

"Yeah, so I'm borrowing it indefinitely," I said. I let Riku steal another piece of my breakfast, grinning a little at his groggy movements. "It's pretty cool..."

"Ahh... Learn anything yet?" He stuffed the corner of the toast in his mouth and looked at me expectantly.

"Not really," I replied. "You can help me practice some of the moves later."

His lips curled in amusement at that. "'kay..." And with that, he started to get up, toast hanging from his mouth. His sleep-mussed silver hair fell to his shoulders as he rose to his feet and stretched, completely naked, a hand scratching at his abs.

I listened to the shuffle of his feet on the carpet as he began to move to the kitchen with lethargic grace.

_Jingle_.

"Ack—Paopu!" he suddenly cried, probably almost tripping on the dog. "Forgot you were there."

There came the crinkling of the dance pads as Paopu got to his feet, wagging his tail expectantly.

"Oh, all right... dog treats..."

Riku scratched behind the dog's ears and led him to the kitchen for some food, leaving me behind in my room. A warm smile spread across my face, and for once, I had no worries at all.

-o-o-

"Yeah... that's right. No, no—the lease hasn't ended yet. I'm just gonna ask Tidus if he wants to live there instead, y'know, to get away from those dorm freaks. Yeah, it'll be okay. I'd rather move in with Sora pretty fast."

I grinned as I watched Riku bustle around my room, picking up random articles of clothing as he talked on his cell phone.

It was rather amusing that most of the clothes lying around my floor were actually his. When I really thought about it, a lot of his stuff was already at my place, like he already did live here. Now that I was sure Riku was really moving in, I felt stupid about ever worrying he'd let me down. He really loved me.

"Wait—what? Oh, whatever! I'm not _that_ irresponsible, Seiya."

Once he'd had his coffee, Riku had called up my mom to tell her about him moving in. From the sound of things, she was really happy about it. Then again, my mom had always loved Riku—I still thought she knew way more about us than she let on. Even before Riku and I had gotten together, she'd known I liked him that way... even before _I_ had known. She was scary like that.

"What's she accusing you of doing _now_?" I wondered aloud as Riku passed the bed to snatch a pair of his briefs that had been caught on the DVD tower. It'd probably gotten there yesterday after our dancing session.

He waved his underwear at me. "She said that you were going to sleep even less with me here molesting you all the time."

"Unless I pass out after sex each time," I commented with a grin.

His briefs suddenly flew at me, catching on my spiky hair.

"I do _not_ initiate sex _that_ much," he protested loudly, and even from my distance, I heard my mom cackling from the cell phone.

Pulling Riku's underwear off my head, I laughed, pointing out, "Riku, _three times_ yesterday... and then you tried it again before you were even awake enough to form coherent sentences!"

He hesitated at that for a moment, and then waved it off. "Okay, so maybe I do—but I'm not stupid. What, you don't want me to move in with your son or something, hmm?"

I fingered the hem of the briefs in my hands, smirking at the phone conversation.

"Yeah, that's what I thought. Never pass up an opportunity to throw us together, do you, Seiya?" Riku laughed. He finally finished his scavenger hunt and dumped his clothes into a pile at the foot of my bed. He straightened his back, dragging a hand through his hair, and then glanced over in my direction. "Hey—Sora, are you molesting my underwear? Give those back—!"

And he promptly snagged them, but I held on, giggling as he pulled at the briefs and shot me an indignant look.

"You're the one who so graciously gave them to me," I reminded him, holding on and enjoying the cute expression of exasperation he gave me.

"Oh whatever! Seiya, I gotta go," he announced, still holding onto his part of the underwear. His eyes narrowed at me and a sort of feral grin pulled at his lips. "Yeah, I'm going to attack your son so he's late for class. Yeah, bye!"

He snapped his cell shut and immediately pounced. I squeaked and let go of his briefs, moving to get off the bed and avoid his wrath, but the bastard pinned me down before I could get away.

Somewhere to the side, I heard the soft thunk of his cell phone and underwear hitting the floor.

And as he gave me that smug look of his, I knew he'd really meant what he had said about attacking me. I also knew I wouldn't be getting to class on time after all.

His eyes gleamed with naughty intent and I felt my cheeks warm as he studied me.

"Geology?" I asked, slightly hopeful.

In response, a warm hand slid up one of my thighs, slipping into the baggy leg of my boxers. I would have smacked the wandering fingers away, but he still had me effectively pinned to the mattress. His other hand was creeping under my nightshirt, which was already riding up. He gave a pleasant hum of approval as he felt along the grooves of my stomach, his soft palm tracing my waist and eliciting small tremors from my body.

"Geh, Riku, I really have to get ready for class, y'know!" I whined, squirming impatiently under him to no avail.

I wasn't going to win this time.

"Class has been _postponed_," he purred, and then promptly attacked.

"Rikuuuu...ahhh!"

-o-o-

Come noon, I was exhausted.

Riku and I had missed our morning classes, and if I didn't hurry up, I was going to be late for work, too. I had thought about calling in sick, just so I could get some rest, but it was the end of the season and I knew the pool was going to be busy. I couldn't leave Tidus alone with all those girls fake-drowning just to be saved by us lifeguards.

But... the nap I'd taken yesterday after sex was the only sleep from the last two days I had in me. It was going to be a long, draining day, and adding in all the screaming children and stuff, I didn't have a clue as to how I was going to survive.

As I hobbled across my room in my swimming trunks, trying to pull on the cleanest pair of shorts I could find, I heard Riku calling for Paopu. The dog was lounging at the foot of my bed, and at first I thought he was being his usual lazy self, but he didn't even turn an ear at Riku's voice.

"What's wrong, Pupu?" I asked, tugging a short-sleeved hoodie on as I neared my dog.

No response. His head was lifted, tilted slightly to the side as he stared up at the ceiling, ears perked up.

"Paopu?" I tried again, reaching a hand out to scratch the top of his head to get his attention.

Again, he didn't react. Not even a twitch of an ear. Weird.

"Hey Riku, something's wrong with Paopu," I called toward the door.

Wearing only a pair of jeans, Riku entered the room, his brow furrowed in confusion. "Yeah, I was wondering why he didn't come barreling after me when I poured his food." In one hand, he was holding Paopu's blue bowl of reddish-brown, sticky meat chunks. He dragged his free hand through his hair, which was still damp from the shower he had taken not too long ago.

"I dunno how long he's been like this, but it's creepy," I said, pushing at the dog's side to see if he'd respond. "It's like he's not there or something."

Riku hesitated, humming softly in thought. "No, he's there. He probably just heard something in the attic."

My eyes widened at this, turning to follow Paopu's gaze. Yeah, that was the attic alright, but...

"W-What would he have heard?" I asked.

Thinking about it, I couldn't remember ever going in there—I just always checked to see if the ceiling door was sealed every night. For all I knew, it could be full of weird shit. Or worse... But then, if Paopu _had_ heard something threatening, wouldn't he be up and growling instead of just staring?

"Dunno, probably just a squirrel or something," Riku said in an easy voice, waving the food bowl in front of the dog's nose. This snapped Paopu out of his trance immediately. His head turned to follow the path of the bowl, mouth dropping open to pant and salivate in excitement. "See?" Riku laughed, pulling the bowl back and taking a step away. "He's perfectly fine. I mean, everyone goes into those kinds of trances, even babies. He was probably just thinking about something really hard."

I gave Riku a withering look. "First he hears something in the attic, and now you're saying he was just thinking really hard?"

He shrugged, heading back toward the kitchen with the bowl. "Don't worry about it. If you're that scared, we'll check out the attic if he does it again," he said. Then he smacked his thigh and whistled. "C'mon, boy! Follow the lunch."

_Jinglejingle!_

The dog gave a happy bark as he hopped to his feet and bounded after Riku to get his food. Riku was already laughing again, patting the dog, incident forgotten.

Even though it bothered me, I decided to try brushing it off as well.

Casting a long glance at the ceiling, I turned and went to find some clean socks. Nothing remotely sock-like and smelling good was in my pile, so I decided to look elsewhere. As I entered the hall, I remembered the thermostat and decided to turn up the temperature so it wouldn't be so cold when I got home.

I paused in front of it, reaching out to adjust it—

But the air conditioner was already off.

That was kind of weird, since it had been so chilly last night in the room, and, in the shower, the curtain...

No.

I stopped myself, shaking my head and reprimanding myself.

There was no such thing as ghosts. Riku had probably turned the AC off when he'd gotten up. That's all.

Ignoring the uneasy feeling stirring inside of me, I continued my quest to find clean socks.

-o-o-

Surprisingly, Riku and I got ready in record time. After Paopu was fed and both of us were dressed, I had packed my gym bag with my natatorium crap, and we were bustling toward the front door like a pair of newlyweds.

Riku pocketed his cell phone and keys and paused in front of the hall mirror to make sure his hair was straight as he spoke. "Remember to call me when you get off work, okay?"

"Yeah," I replied, pulling the door open. The afternoon sun poured into the hall, momentarily blinding me as I looked out into the street. Squinting and rubbing at my eyes, I sighed, turning away. As much as I loved daylight, I hated facing it on zero sleep—it always burned.

I flinched when I felt Riku turn me around. He looked a little reprimanding as he slipped his sunglasses onto me and pulled my eartails free. Blinking up at him, I raised a hand to touch the glasses, a bit surprised. Riku really liked this pair.

"You didn't get any sleep, did you?" he asked as he mussed my hair. "I can tell, y'know. I mean, you have bags under your eyes all the time, but when you don't get any sleep, they just get worse."

Pursing my lips, I looked away. "I'll be fine."

He sighed, obviously disappointed and worried, but he said nothing about it. I knew he knew that I didn't like talking about my sleeping problems, and that the conversation would only cycle back around to my paranoia and that I needed help.

I gave him a reassuring smile. He looked almost convinced, too, but then Paopu came hurrying down the hall, nails clicking on the floor and announcing his arrival. I blinked down at the dog, who reared up, pressing his paws to my thigh, and gave two sharp barks. Both Riku and I winced at the sound.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

Another bark.

"I have to go to work, Pupu," I said, trying to scratch behind his ears.

But the dog moved his head, almost in an annoyed gesture, and barked again.

"That's weird," Riku murmured, moving to grab Paopu's collar. He pulled the dog away from me, but not without a small struggle.

"Really weird," I added. "Paopu never fights you..."

"Yeah," he agreed. He gave me a small, concerned frown, and nodded to the door. "Go ahead. I'll be right behind you."

But as I moved toward the door, Paopu jerked out of Riku's grasp and barked again, trying to follow after me. His tail wasn't wagging with its usual happiness, so I knew he wasn't looking forward to a walk or anything... And even his bark was off—almost... warning.

"What the heck's with you, boy?" Riku sighed, grabbing onto the dog's collar again. "Just go—I'll take care of him, Sora."

I nodded, really worried, but I did need to get to work.

This time I was out the door when Paopu tried to follow. Riku held onto his collar, shouting at the dog, and I hesitated on the porch to watch.

"Stop it, Paopu! He's just going to work!"

_Bark! Bark! Barkbark!_

In his desperation to follow me, he was practically dragging Riku to the door now.

"Paopu!" I yelled, moving back to the door. With a stern face, I pointed into the house, glaring at the dog. "Inside, _now_."

_Bark! Bark!_

I shook my head, grabbing onto his collar as well, and nudged him back inside. I moved around him to help Riku drag him to the small backyard. It took a lot of effort, but after a few minutes, we managed to chain him up—something Paopu _really _didn't like. At first he tugged at the chain, barking nonstop, but after a little while with Riku and me shushing him, he began pacing back and forth with his tail between his legs. His whimpering practically broke my heart, but I couldn't have him following me to work.

"Something's wrong..." I muttered.

Even though it was obvious, Riku didn't state it.

"He's gone nuts," he agreed.

I could tell he was really worried, and probably for a totally different reason than I was. I thought this was a warning sign, but Riku probably just thought Paopu was being scarily loyal or something.

"Maybe we should call Wakka," he suggested. His brows drew together with concern. He gave me a long look. "Y'know, to bring his truck over... take Paopu to the vet."

"The vet...?"

"Well, something's wrong, right?" he said. "Don't you want to take him to the vet?"

I blinked at him before turning to look at Paopu. I gave my dog a long look, feeling really disturbed about the situation. Paopu was acting like he was scared... and if we took him to the vet, there was no telling when I'd have him back at home with me. I didn't want to be in this place alone, and I knew Riku was going to be too busy to spend the night tonight.

"No... no vet," I said at last. "He'll be fine."

But I couldn't help feeling the awful ache of worry as we left Paopu there whimpering, chained up in my backyard. I knew it was going to haunt me all day.

When we got back to the front and I was locking the deadbolt into place, Riku nudged my shoulder to get my attention. I lifted my head and heard him whisper to me.

"Your crazy neighbor is watching us."

I stiffened. "He is?" Turning my head only slightly, I discreetly looked across the street.

Sure enough, there he was, and he was talking to my other neighbor, Old Lady Winkle with her stupid rat terrier. They kept glancing in our direction.

"Told you he's after me," I muttered. "He's even trying to get information from Winkle now."

"Yeah, it's a little creepy," he agreed. "But I doubt it's what you think it is."

"Riku, Winkle probably has binoculars and stares through the windows to watch me move around the house," I said. "She's nosy as hell."

At this, he grinned. "Think she saw me wandering around naked earlier?"

I smacked his arm, unable to hide an amused smile. "Streaker."

"Only for you," he smirked, hooking a finger in my front pocket and pulling me close. He nipped my jaw, his green eyes straying to watch my neighbors again.

My cheeks warmed. "Idiot, they're watching!" I hissed, trying to pull away.

"Well, she'll have a lot to voyeur pretty soon," he commented smugly as he tugged me back. "When I move in."

I gave a loud yelp when he openly groped me. "RIKU!"

His only response was, "You're going to be late for woooork."

"Gah!" I pulled away from him and pointed accusingly. "You—you—!"

He broke into laughter, slinging an arm around my neck and guiding me down the stairs of my porch. "You're such a dork, Sora! And so easy to tease, too."

I grumbled to myself, knowing my face was red as we passed my neighbors. And, knowing my discomfort, Riku gave a cheerful wave at them to let them know he knew they were watching us.

"Hey guys! Nice day!"

I groaned and tried to act nonchalant as we walked away, but I stole a look back to see Winkle with a scowl on her face, and the creepy child molester with a slightly amused look. Man, I was going to end up getting molested in my sleep or something...!

"Riku, stop being an ass," I whined in a low voice. "You're only encouraging Mr. Creepy..."

He just ruffled my hair and leaned in, kissing my cheek. "Everything'll be okay, you dork," he laughed. "You'll see."

Yeah, right.

-o-o-

"Yo Sora! What's with the power nap?"

"Nnggh..."

"Ack, were you really sleeping?"

"...almost..."

The benches in the employee's changing room weren't the most comfortable of surfaces to catch some shut-eye, especially on the job, but I hadn't gotten far today with my lack of sleep. Ten minutes of inhaling chlorine and listening to children squeal at each other, I had nearly passed out in my high lifeguard chair above the pool.

Naturally, the boss—Jassu, as Tidus liked to call him—had noticed my state and demanded that I lay down for a bit to see if I felt better. Except, this kind of exhaustion wasn't going to just pass. Even if I napped for a while, I wouldn't be up and ready for the day just like that. A full night's sleep would cure it, but... that wasn't likely to happen.

I had a feeling they were going to force me to go home early... Nobody needed a weakened lifeguard—it endangered not only me, but the swimmers as well, if I couldn't even function enough to save them.

I kept my face buried in my arms, and didn't uncurl from my fetal position even when I heard Tidus' wet feet approach the bench, and felt him sit next to me. He must have just started his break or something.

"Why're you so dead today?" he asked, nudging my bare knee.

I grunted at him.

"So Riku kept you up, then?"

A groan this time.

Tidus snickered at this. "Well, even if he's not the whole reason, I know he's part of it."

"Ungh, Tidus... I just couldn't sleep, okay?" I managed to mutter, voice muffled by my arms. "I'll be fine..."

"You don't sound fine."

Sighing, I lifted my head enough to squint at Tidus. His goofy grin faded somewhat at seeing my expression.

"Wow, you even _look_ dead, Sora..." he commented, reaching out to mess up my hair. Great, he was being affectionate and brotherly... that meant he was worried about me. "Why didn't you take the day off?"

I glared. "Because I didn't want you to face the season's end alone, bastard..."

Not at all fazed by my mood, Tidus laughed and shook his head, patting my cheek. "Jassu can call in Wakka. Ask if you can leave," he suggested.

"Murgh, stop it—"

I batted his hand away and uncurled from my position to sit up, head hanging in exhaustion.

It was kind of chilly in the changing room, and I was only wearing my lifeguard uniform—just my whistle, a white tank with "GUARD" on the chest, and some blue hydroshorts. One look at Tidus, and I saw he was getting cold too, little goosebumps forming on his arms. At the moment he had his usual white uniform muscle shirt off, and his shorts were dripping wet, so I supposed he must have gone for a quick swim before going on his break.

I pursed my lips and looked away from him before he thought I was ogling him or something. I knew Tidus was okay with my relationship with Riku, but homosexuality was still a weird subject for him. I may have been gay, but I didn't ogle my friends. I didn't want him to feel iffy around me like he used to. Now, Tidus _did_ have a nice body—one that definitely fit nicely into his muscle shirt when he did wear it, as opposed to me, who looked especially scrawny in my lifeguard uniform.

"But you're right," I said as I started to slip off the bench. "M'gonna go find him..."

But he caught my arm to stop me. "Hey, wait a sec."

I turned to glance at him, rather surprised to see an actually concerned look on his usually smiling face.

"You sure you're okay?" he asked. "I've seen you tired before, but this is really bad, Sora..."

Managing a small smile, I shook my head. "You've seen me without one night's sleep. Right now it's going on three days..."

"Three days!" Tidus didn't even hesitate. He thwacked me right upside the head. "You idiot! What the heck are you doing? You _know_ that's bad for—"

"Yeah, yeah, I know," I interrupted, giving him a hurt pout as I rubbed the spot he'd hit. "I just haven't been able to make my mind shut up, okay?"

"But didn't Riku stay at your place last night?" Tidus asked, giving me a scrutinizing look.

"He wore himself out and passed out before I did," I explained. "Usually I'll be okay with him around, but last night I still stayed up..."

Humming in thought, Tidus frowned, scratching at his wet hair. "You been depressed?"

I gave him a doubtful look. "No. Actually, I'm pretty happy. Riku's gonna move in."

"No way!"

"Yes way," I replied, pulling my arm away from him. A small grin pulled at my lips. Though I was ready to curl up and sleep for ten years, I still felt that rush of happiness whenever I thought about Riku living with me. "As soon as possible too. He's gonna give you his place."

"You're shitting me!" Tidus laughed, eyes bright with excitement. He hopped to his feet, his whistle swinging from his neck like a pendulum. "You mean no more dorm-hell? That's so cool!"

Too tired to hold much of a conversation, I just smiled as Tidus bantered on in excitement, talking about how easier it was going to be than sharing a small dorm room with Bickson and blah blah blah, and—

"No wonder you didn't get any sleep last night! You two probably went at it like newlyweds!"

Wait, what?

"T-Tidus!" I snapped, breaking out of my zoned-out state. I felt my cheeks burning with embarrassment like they always did whenever someone brought up me and Riku like that.

He laughed at my blush and slung an arm around my neck, pulling me to him to rub a knuckle in my hair. Yelping, I flailed out as I bumped into him and his fist started its noogie.

I promptly whined and pulled at his arms in a sad attempt to make him stop. "Tiiiiiidusss!"

"I'm totally used to the idea of butt-sex now, Sora!" he crowed. "No need to be shy and cute about it!"

"Not so loud!" I squeaked, shoving him away.

He stumbled back a step, clutching his stomach as he practically doubled over with laughter. Through his breathless gasps, he managed to utter out, "I was just teasing you—_damn_ you're sensitive!"

Rolling my eyes, I waved a hand at him and started to stalk off. "Whatever. I'll see you later," I grumbled. "Jassu's probably already waiting for me to ask him to leave."

"Alright," Tidus replied behind me. "Oh—just take care, okay? Get some rest!"

"Yeah, yeah..."

My feet felt like lead as I headed out to the main pool to find my boss. I spotted him sitting alert, high up in his white guard chair, blowing his whistle at two kids dunking a third underwater. Botta was up in his chair too, his long red hair tied back, and a band-aid slapped over his nose. He gave a nod at me when he saw me enter the area, and motioned in Jassu's direction. I guess I had been right about them making me go home...

I was all for it, at this point. I felt like shit. I didn't even know how I was going to make the trip home yet.

As I passed the first deep end, ignoring the teenage girls giggling in my direction, I looked out into the large pool. To my tired eyes, the dozens of children and teenagers and young couples playing out in the middle of the water looked like swirling masses of color, bathing suits, shades of all skin and hair blending together to form a moving piece of artwork.

I watched my step along the edge, moving around people walking to and from the standard changing rooms as I stared out into the water. I don't know what made me pause, or why it would ever even cross my mind to look, but it did, and I slowed my progress, studying the depths of the pool.

There, weaving through the wriggling bodies of kids playing Marco Polo, was an unmistakable dark shadow that made me freeze in my tracks.

My eyes widened at what I was seeing, and it took a moment for my mind to register the thought—a shark!

My heart gave a sudden jerk, and I stumbled back a little, panicking a second, not knowing how the hell a simple lifeguard like myself could handle a situation like this. The adrenaline coursing through my body woke me up in a flash, and _Get out of the pool!_ was already at the tip of my tongue as I started hurrying down the edge of the pool, my eyes frantically searching for another glimpse of the large beast under all those children's feet.

As my fingers clenched around my whistle, classic scenes from _Jaws_ entertained my mind in awful ways, including the universal theme song, and I felt my stomach clench with fear for what kind of bloody massacre could happen here, if—

But as suddenly as the terrible fear had come, so did the obvious realization that...

Well, this was a _pool_.

Sharks didn't inhabit pools.

I came to an abrupt stop, heart racing, and stared unblinking into the water.

There was nothing there. No large shadow. Just people having fun.

...what the hell!

Swallowing thickly, I tore my gaze away, silently reprimanding myself for being SO STUPID. Even if I _had_ distinctly seen it, it was impossible for a shark to suddenly appear in a public pool like this.

FUCK.

Maybe I _was_ going nuts!

Had I been hallucinating!

Shaking my head, I glanced up at my boss, and growled to myself.

Rrgh, I was _leaving _and I was going to **rest** when I got home, and that was that.

-o-o-

But I hated going home from work alone.

It wasn't quite evening yet, but the day was cooling as the sun sank to kiss the horizon. With my gym bag hanging from one shoulder, I walked with my arms around myself to block out the chilly breeze, trying not to pay attention to the foreign street noises around me... which was pretty impossible.

With each turn, I swore I heard something rustling the hedges, or voices whispering into the wind behind me, or the scrape of boots against the sidewalk. Nothing was ever there, but I always heard things when I was alone. People always stared, too, and not the friendly stares. I never felt pleasant on these lonely walks...

I used to run home a lot, actually, just to see how fast I could do it. When I ran, pretending someone was chasing me—or in most cases, actually _thinking_ someone was chasing me—adrenaline kicked in and I felt myself flying down the street, running faster than I'd ever run before. Sometimes it felt liberating, just to feel the pounding of my heart, all of my senses tuned to fleeing danger.

I don't do that much anymore, not since I'd entered college, really. Actually, on days like this, I'd call Riku to keep me company, but today I was avoiding that call. I was still trying to decide whether or not I was going to mention what had happened earlier at the pool. I knew he was going to ask if I had gotten scared today at all—he always did, and I always answered honestly... but this time it was so ridiculous that I felt stupid about getting worked up about nothing.

A shark... in the pool. I mean, honestly! I wasn't going crazy—I was becoming an _idiot_!

Riku'd tease me about that... but I knew that, deep down, he'd be thinking something totally different.

Hadn't I told myself I was going to start getting better about controlling my imagination? And then something insane like that had to happen. At this rate, I really didn't think anything was going to work...

Kicking at a loose stone, I gave a heavy sigh and turned down my street into the gated community. A stray crow swooped past me on the sidewalk, spread its wings, and landed on a nearby mailbox. It cocked its head, beady black eyes watching as I passed. It gave a sharp caw and I ignored it.

Almost home.

I couldn't _wait_ to collapse on my bed and try to get some shut-eye. I could practically feel myself laying in my comfy bed already, surrounded by my big, soft blankets and pillows. Even if Riku wasn't going to be there, I figured I was too exhausted to let my imagination keep me awake this time.

Well, after I checked on Paopu. I was kind of scared about that. If my dog was still acting weird, I couldn't keep him inside, and I didn't feel safe alone...

Argh, Sora, who the fuck cares? I really needed to get my act together!

Shaking my head, I gave another sigh and started to fish my keys out of my bag. When I turned down my front walk, I was too busy digging in my bag to notice someone crossing the street after me.

"Stupid keys..." I grumbled, pushing my hand past my butterfly knife. A finger hooked a keyring and I tugged the collection of keychains out with a triumphant, "Haha!"

"Hey."

I jumped at the deep voice, eyes going wide as I turned, defensively holding my keys to my chest. My heart almost stopped when I saw who was behind me on my lawn.

Mr. Creepy narrowed his dark eye a bit as he took in my startled reaction—and not for the first time, I hated myself for being so easy to read.

"H-H-Hey," I offered, managing a shaky smile in greeting.

This was my first time seeing him up close, actually, and I saw just how nasty that scar across his right eye looked. Must have hurt like hell... and I wondered how he'd gotten it. He smelt faintly, like sweat and something really familiar...

"What's your name?" he asked.

I was really glad he wasn't carrying anything lethal-looking, otherwise I'd have been pissing my pants. And, stupidly, I answered without thinking.

"S-S-Sora..."

He suddenly looked very disgruntled, as if my name was like an insult or something. His dark eye studied me carefully for a long, awkward moment, in which I took a cautious step back.

He took a step forward to close the distance again, and this time I recognized that smell on him.

Dog. Or something like it... He smelled like a wet dog, but not like reeking. Just faint. It was weird because I was pretty sure he didn't have a pet, unless he'd washed Old Lady Winkle's rat terrier.

"Sora, huh," he grunted, eyeing me carefully. "Name's Auron."

"H-Hi A-Auron," I replied, wondering when he was going to get to the point of his visit—whether it be kidnapping and murder, or something harmless...

"I spoke to Ms. Winkle earlier today," he said. "Lately there's been some break-ins. Some of her pets have gone missing. I offered to make sure her place was secure."

I nodded dumbly, having a feeling I knew where this was going. He continued, scratching at his stubble.

"I noticed you live alone, except for visits from your _friend_," he said, and something about his serious tone made me really uneasy. "It's probably a good idea to let me check your place too."

Wait—

What?

Uh-uh, NO WAY.

I worked my jaw a few times, gaping up at him and trying to think of a nice way to turn him down, that I was perfectly capable of locking my doors and crap. But as he stared at me with that creepy one-eyed stare of his. Urgh.

"N-No," I started, nearly tripping as I took another step back. "I'm fine, really."

He moved to close the distance between us again, but I quickly turned and headed up the porch to my door, searching for the right key.

"Suit yourself," he said curtly. "Just one more thing..."

I squeaked when I felt his hand land on my shoulder. I roughly pulled away, shot him a scared look, and started trying to unlock my door in a panic—something I was actually pretty good at.

"Jeez, kid, what's wrong with you?"

"G-Get off my porch before I call the cops!" I managed to get out as I pushed my door open, hurrying inside and quickly turning so he couldn't push me inside and follow or something. I used the door as a shield, showing only part of my face to him. The hand I had on the doorknob was shaking so bad that the metal rattled.

"Such un-neighborly manners, kid," he said in a dark voice, his face blank. "I just wanted a cup of sugar."

I thickly swallowed and slammed my door shut. With expert speed, I locked it, slid the deadbolt into place, and then put the chain on.

For a moment I just stood there, staring wide-eyed at the door with my heart pounding in my throat. I blinked a few times, sucking in deep breaths to help calm myself down, but it didn't really work. Then I just sort of forced myself to turn away from the door, willing myself not to look out the window. I sunk against the wood, hitting the floor and curling up, trembling. One hand was gripping the strap of my gym bag, which had fallen next to me, and the sweaty fingers of my other hand were clutching my keys so hard it hurt. It took a lot of effort to let them go.

That...

That had been one of the scariest encounters in my life.

What kind of bullshit excuse had that been to get into my house!

Holy shit... He really _was _spying on me and crap!

Shaky, I reached into my bag to get my cell phone.

I needed to tell Riku about it. I needed some form of comfort, _anything_—

_VRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!_

"Ahhhh!"

Heart leaping back into my throat, I jerked my hand out of the bag—

Only to realize that it was just my cell phone on vibrate.

Riku was calling _me_.

I answered it with a trembling voice, my hands still shaking.

"R-Riku...?"

"Sora?" he asked, sounding really concerned. "Sora, what's wrong? You sound scared."

"I _am_ scared," I grit out, squeezing my eyes shut and holding back frightened tears.

"Are you okay? What happened?" he asked quickly.

"M-My creepy neighbor..." I began, but hesitated, not really sure how to explain the scary encounter. "H-He..."

"What?"

"He tried to get into my house!"

"Wait—_what_!"

I sucked in a deep breath, organizing my thoughts to let them all spill out. But when I opened my mouth to rant and cry, nothing came out. I stopped myself, thinking back on the encounter.

Was I overreacting again...?

"Sora—what happened? Are you okay?" Riku asked again. "Do you want me to come over?"

Oh God—_yes_, I wanted him to come over, hold me, and tell me I'd be alright. To pet my hair and snuggle with me in bed, to whisper little stories in my ear to make me feel better. But somehow, I just knew I was being stupid again. My neighbor wasn't after me, he didn't want to rape me or anything... He'd just been trying to be friendly, right?

Fuck, it hurt like hell, but I had to do it.

"N-No... It's okay..." I managed to get out. My hand gripped the cell phone a little too hard and the plastic squeaked. "I'll be fine. I'm just... gonna get some rest or something... Don't worry."

"What the hell—_Sora_, you just told me your neighbor tried to get into your house!" Riku pointed out, incredulous. "How am I supposed to not worry?"

"I-I dunno," I stammered. "It's okay, really! H-He just wanted to see if the place was secure. There's been a lot of break-ins."

"That's bullshit!" he said. "Fuck it, I'm coming over—"

"NO!" I cried. "No, Riku, it's okay! I can handle it myself. You go to class!"

"I still have an hour," he snapped, sounding hurt all of a sudden. "But if you don't want me there, just tell me right out, and not that you'll be okay, because I know you, Sora. I'm not like everyone else. I _know_ when you're bullshitting me—"

"But Riku—"

"_No_. It's not alright, Sora," he insisted, his tone leaving no room for argument. "I won't rush over there if you don't want me to, but at least know that I _want_ to help."

I pressed a hand over my eyes and nodded even though he couldn't see me. For a moment I couldn't reply, feeling an awful ache inside of me that I couldn't identify—guilt? Overwhelming love? Appreciation...? Fear that there may be something really wrong with me...?

"Okay," I whispered at last, my voice strained. I gave a sharp sniffle, wiping at my eyes. "Okay... I'm sorry."

"Don't be," he said simply. But then he gave a soft sigh, sounding almost as tired as I felt. "Look... I'm sorry too. I just don't like you grouping me with everyone else. Anyway..." He paused, his tone lightening considerably. "You're home really early. I was going to leave a voicemail, but lo and behold, you answered. What's up?"

Oh great. Here we go...

"They sent me home for the day..."

And then there was a long silence from the other end of the phone.

"Er... Well, I nearly passed out from exhaustion, really," I added hesitantly.

"...what!"

"And... I saw a shark in the pool," I continued, figuring I might as well get it all out at once. I waved a hand, trying to explain myself better. "I mean, I didn't _really _see one, but I swear I did, but it's impossible, right?"

Riku definitely didn't sound impressed. "A shark... at the pool."

"Yeah, I know," I said, "you don't need to tell me." Pausing, I fingered the edge of my phone, wondering if I had the strength to get up and away from the door. My encounter with Mr. Creepy already seemed surreal, like it hadn't even happened to me. "I haven't been getting much sleep these past few days," I explained. "Maybe an hour a night, and five-minute naps... That's probably doing it."

"Sora!" he cried, his voice slightly breaking into static. "That kind of lack of sleep can cause hallucinations!"

"Yeah, I know," I said again, this time more slowly. "I took the same psych class as you in high school, dork."

Riku didn't seem to hear me. Either that, or he didn't care. "Argh, I didn't know you weren't sleeping well again!" he half-whined, no doubt feeling guilty for continually seducing me.

"I remember when Tidus said he wanted to stay up four days straight, just so he could see the hallucinations," I said idly.

"Sora, you're trailing off the subject! Why haven't you been sleeping?"

"Dunno... Just got a bad feeling," I admitted.

"Yeah, well, that's nothing new," he pointed out. "Listen, I'm gonna let you go now because I gotta whiz, _but_—" here he paused, voice turning reprimanding. "You _need_ to get some rest. I'll be out of classes by eight and I'll swing by then to keep you company. You better have a few hours of sleep in you by then, or _else_."

I smiled a little at his threat, tilting my head back against the door. "Okay... I feel ready to pass out anyway," I said. "After I check on Paopu, I'll sleep."

"Be careful," he said. "Make sure the doors are locked, too. Okay, gotta go now."

"Okay..." I paused, adding a meek, "I love you and I promise I'll get some sleep."

He laughed a little at that, and the rich sound of his laughter instantly cheered me up and helped ease my nerves. "Good boy. Love you too. See you later."

My smile spread slightly. "Bye."

_Click_.

I slowly lowered the phone, eyeing the words _call ended_ with a twinge of sadness.

It was okay though... I'd deal with this alone. That's what I'd asked for.

Closing my phone, I sighed and started to get to my feet, almost groaning at the tired ache of my muscles. I dropped my gym bag by and my keys on the hall table and stuffed the phone into my back pocket, moving toward the kitchen as I checked the ceiling and corners for anything unusual. Nothing was out of place.

Brushing off the uncomfortable feeling I had, I headed to the back door to check on my dog, grabbing his bowl of water on the way. I unlocked the door and turned the knob, fully intending on giving Paopu a lot of love to make him feel better for being locked outside this long.

But as I began to push the door open—

**_SNAP!_**

Sharp, white teeth flashed before my eyes.

I cried out and stumbled back in shock, water from the bowl spilling down my front. In case of another sudden attack, I immediately swung the dog bowl forward to protect myself. Paopu's strong maw closed around it, and a low, threatening growl vibrated along the blue plastic.

"Paopu!"

My dog shifted back on his haunches, ears pressed to his skull, long teeth bared, the hair on his back raised. The blue bowl landed with a sharp clunk on the ground and rolled on its side past his paws.

I moved back, standing just beyond the reach of his leash. My heart was pounding again, my breath coming in scared gasps, eyes wide and hand shaking as it closed around the doorknob.

The smell of urine was acrid as it wafted in from the backyard, and I noticed Paopu's fur was damp, as was the spot he'd been laying—like he'd peed continually on himself since I'd left the house with Riku.

What the hell...?

Feeling tears of fear sting my eyes, I slammed my door shut, wincing at the sound of Paopu's barking just beyond.

My dog _never _acted violently.

Shaken, I turned away from the back door, already reaching into my pocket to grab my cell phone. But my fingers hesitated on Riku's speed-dial, knowing I was being a weak hypocrite if I called him back. If I told him about Paopu, Riku would come rushing over and miss class.

I could deal with this alone. Paopu was just... Oh hell, I didn't know _what_ was wrong with my dog, but I could wait until eight o'clock to bring it up to Riku.

There was no need for me to be so worried... right?

-o-o-

I decided that the perfect way to help me relax, take my mind off things, and still pass a lot of time was to watch TV, which was something I actually didn't have the luxury of doing too often. Back in pajamas—this time my own drawstring pants, and a baggy shirt of Riku's—I stretched out on my bed with a plate of peanut butter and slices of granny smith apples. My cell phone and butterfly knife were set on the nightstand, just in case.

I put the TV on Boomerang, snickering when I saw that Scooby Doo was playing. Tidus and Riku used to always liken me to the silly mutt, because of my irrational fears. But unlike Scooby, I'd never had a Shaggy there shivering in his boots with me. Shaking my head, I went about eating my apples, rolling my eyes at the cheesy jokes amongst the gang of characters and 'the Creeeeeeperrr' chasing them.

By the time the episode was over, and another one was starting, I was done with my midday snack, and my eyes were drooping at the television. I curled up with my heavy blanket and yawned, feeling my very long day catch up with me. Snuggling into the comfort, I smiled a little.

Before I realized I was even falling asleep, I suddenly woke to the feeling of my bed shaking, just a little. It wasn't until I felt the edge of my comforter move against my feet that I abruptly sat up, heart thundering in panic.

My wide eyes scanned my almost-dark room and I wondered just how long I had been sleeping. One look out the window and the setting sun told me it was after six or so.

Shit...

As I pulled my comforter closer, almost protectively, I stole another glance around my room, noting the darkening corners and that my closet door was still closed. Well, there was no one in my room...

I had probably just shifted in my sleep, and that had caused my bed to shake. Yeah. My bed was shaky... And the shaking had caused my comforter to slip, that's all. No one else was in the room.

A bit spitefully, I grabbed the remote and triggered the TV off. My room darkened considerably more, and the silence that filled it was almost as creepy as the hissing of the static.

Settling back down into bed, I shivered, curling my fingers into the soft material of my blanket.

"It was just gravity, Sora," I grumbled, squeezing my eyes shut and shaking off my uneasy feeling. "Just gravity..."

And as I tried to clear my mind, it kept drifting, my imagination threatening to stir awake and nag at me. I was too tired though, and sleep was winning again, despite my fears. I just couldn't help feeling like someone was standing over me as I tried to fall back asleep...

-o-o-

"AAAaaaiiieeee!"

"SHIT!"

I flew out of bed, startled awake, my heart racing as I looked around my room for the source of the noise, the scream—

And I realized I was on the ground, tangled in my blanket. Squeaking, I quickly climbed back into bed, very wary of the dark crack under the mattress frame. I curled up, clutching myself, noticing that my room was entirely dark, except for the glow of the TV screen.

A b-horror movie was on, which had probably been the source of the scream.

Argh...

I reached a hand out, feeling for the remote. My fingers hit a random button, changing the channel and filling the room with the sound of white noise. I squinted through the darkness at the black and white specks on the screen, momentarily mesmerized and creeped out by the not-quite cacophony of rustling static. I'd never understood what made white noise, but it would always make me iffy. I hated staring at it, as if maybe I'd see something clear in all of that black and white and grey nonsense.

I switched my lamp on, casting my room in a very dim light. Searching for the power button on the remote, I clicked the TV off.

...which was weird... I could have sworn I'd turned it off earlier, and it had been on cartoons. Granted... I could have just rolled over in my sleep and turned it on and changed the station, but...

Oh whatever.

Raking a hand through my hair, I yawned as I untangled myself from my blanket and got out of bed.

My digital alarm said it was right after eight, so Riku'd be out of class by now. I needed to wake myself up a little before he got here.

I trekked across my messy room, feeling suddenly lonely without Paopu lounging around the floor. I'd have to check on him... but not until Riku got here.

Entering my bathroom, I sighed, feeling stupid for the routine I always went through. I faced the mirror and switched the light on, blinking a few times at my reflection as the small room was illuminated with bright light. It always baffled me that I always felt worse after naps than I did before I took them. My eyes hurt even more now...

Let's see... The hamper was still in front of the scary door that led into the backyard. Nothing seemed to be behind my shower curtain (but I didn't want to risk checking). Nothing behind me, either.

Studying my sad-looking reflection, I reached out to turn on the water, feeling myself tense at the sound of old pipes groaning in the night as the water sputtered out. I washed my face, rubbing my eyes and behind my ears to feel a little refreshed.

When the door clicked shut, I flinched as always, even though I'd been expecting it because it happened all the time.

"Stupid door..."

I sighed and grabbed a towel, wiping my face and hands quickly before tossing it back on the counter. Glancing into my reflection, I glared, once again recalling those stupid Bloody Mary stories.

"Yeah, yeah... Bloody Mary, Bloody Mary..."

Just like everything else in my house, there was nothing wrong with the bathroom. It was just me.

It was _always_ me.

I closed my eyes and shook my head. "Maybe you _are_ crazy," I muttered to my reflection.

I looked up at the mirror as I reached out to switch the light off—

And my heart froze at what I saw, just as the bathroom plunged into darkness.

Two Soras.

I sucked in a startled gasp as I stood frozen in front of the mirror in the dark, eyes widening even though I could see nothing now. My heart jerked to life as chilly air hit my skin, making it crawl.

A thousand questions and fears ran through my mind—Another me...? But not me, he'd looked...

Had I just imagined it? Was I just hallucin—

But then cold, _cold _fingertips slid up my arm—

And. I. SCREAMED.

Tearing away from the hand, I threw the door open and stumbled out of the bathroom. I heard the door hit something behind me, but I didn't stop to look. All sense left me except one instinct—

RUN.

Feeling my breath coming in ragged gasps, I flew across my room, grabbing my cell phone and knife.

I was halfway out the door when I started to hear the sound of footsteps loud and strong behind me. I slammed my bedroom door shut, scared tears filling my eyes as I sprinted down the hallway, scooping up my keys along the way.

Expert fingers undid the locks of my door, and within a few seconds I was out of my home, locking it behind me as I tore down the street, crying and speed-dialing Riku's number.

HolyshitholyshitHOLYSHIT!

Riku picked up on the second ring, and by then I was running in a blind panic on the sidewalk, bare fleet slapping the concrete.

"Hey baby, I was just about to call you," he laughed. "I'm almost to your place. Leon's giving me a ride."

I choked into the phone, hot tears trailing down my cheeks as I gasped for breath, the thundering heart in my throat keeping me from spilling everything out to him.

"Sora? What was that noise? You okay?"

I sucked in a shuddery breath, wiping furiously at my tears. "N-_No_... C-Come pick me up!" I managed, hesitating at the street past the main gate.

I was too scared to look behind me and see if I was being followed—and even if I wasn't, I still felt that creeping suspicion at my back, half expecting something to grab me from behind.

"Sora, what's—"

"_Just come, I'm scared!_" I cried into the cell phone, my voice breaking. "I-I'm at the gate—"

From the other line, I heard Leon's deep voice ask what was wrong.

"I don't know, but... Oh _God_—Sora, I see you! We're coming up—"

Headlights suddenly blinded me. I took a step back as Leon's black jeep pulled up to the curb in front of me. I heard the phone click dead as the passenger door opened and Riku leapt out of the jeep.

I stood there shaking, phone still to my ear, as he grabbed me and pulled me into his arms, sweeping his hands through my hair and kissing the top of my head.

"Shh... It's okay," he whispered into my hair, holding my trembling body. "I'm here. You're safe."

But I didn't feel like it.

I just clung to him and cried.

* * *

_To be continued..._


	3. Part Three: outside the door he followe...

_Author Notes:_ A huge thanks for all the great feedback! This story has been a challenge to write, but in an oh-so-fun and satisfying way! Here's the last part (aside from the epilogue), and I hope you enjoy.

* * *

_"There are ghosts in the room._

_As I sit here alone,  
from the dark corners there_

_They come out of the gloom,_

_And they stand at my side  
and they lean on my chair..."_

_-- Ella Wheeler Wilcox, Ghosts_

* * *

_Part Three of Three:_ **outside the door he followed me home**

-o-o-

I don't remember the ride to Riku's apartment. After he had told Leon the directions to get there, no one had spoken again, the only sounds inside the jeep coming from Riku's soft shushing and the whisper of his fingers in my hair as he held me. His arms remained around me the whole trip, and usually his hold was a warm solace that chased away all of my fears, but it wasn't working tonight. Not after what I had seen.

But... what _had_ I seen?

Myself, two of me in the mirror...?

I guess it wasn't _too _creepy to see double, but the other me _hadn't_ been me. The cold hand that had trailed down my arm was evidence enough. And the way the door had hit something as I had slammed it open, and the loud footsteps behind me...

A hallucination? It was possible, with my wonky sleeping schedule... Mixed with my fears of the bathroom, my mind _might_ have just been playing tricks with me. I could really be crazy too—schizophrenics experienced hallucinations, didn't they?

I didn't think I was crazy though. Not this time.

My heart refused to calm down, even now that I was in Riku's arms in Leon's jeep heading away from my creepy home. My instinct, my body was telling me that what I had experienced had been real. _Very_ real.

Not a hallucination, not a ghost, not some trick of the lighting or my eyes.

It was terrifying to think about, but I couldn't stop doing it. And I _knew_ what Riku was going to say when I told him. Even though he's never seen me so scared—I mean, enough that I ran out of my house in my pajamas, _crying_—I had a feeling he was still going to try to be logical about everything.

In other words, he wasn't going to believe me.

-o-o-

I was no longer shaking or crying by the time Riku led me up the stairs and inside his place. Once in the main den, my few things were deposited on the coffee table—just my keys, cell phone, and butterfly knife—and Riku helped me onto the small couch, his fingers tracing through my hair once more before he left my side. I heard his footsteps move back towards the door where Leon was waiting.

"Is he going to be okay?"

Leon actually sounded concerned... He didn't know me too well, but I was sure he'd heard of my paranoia before.

"Yeah... He's really spooked, but I'll take care of him," Riku assured quietly, as if not to disturb me. "Thanks for the ride."

"Sure," Leon replied, and I heard his car keys jingling in his hand as he turned to leave. "Call if you need anything."

"See ya."

The door clicked shut and Riku made his way back over to me. He sunk onto the couch, its aged springs groaning a little under his added weight, and I felt him shifting close to me, his hands gently grasping my shoulders to pull me toward him. I let him, reveling in his warmth as I snuggled right up to his side, curled in and bowing my head, resting it against his thigh.

He was already pulling a blanket over me, firmly tucking it into my sides before he made himself comfortable, toeing off his shoes and curling up next to me. Then he was sweeping those fingers through my hair again, a comforting gesture that was beginning to work, his fingertips drawing across my scalp and eliciting pleasant little shivers.

I closed my eyes, and despite my anxiety, I couldn't help the small smile that pulled at my lips.

I was safe here. I'd always be safe in his arms.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

Riku's voice was very soft, quietly urging me to open up to him.

No, I didn't want to talk about it. But I had to. I was scared of losing him more than I was scared of the dark. If I didn't have Riku's trust, there'd be nothing left for me. So... despite the consequences, I had to tell him. This wasn't just my paranoia anymore, or even my little quirks and fears... I had actually seen something.

Taking a deep breath to calm my nerves, I slowly spoke.

"There was something... in my bathroom."

Riku didn't seem too concerned about this. "Hmm... something?" he asked, his tone suggesting that he wanted more detail.

"A person," I clarified.

His body tensed, telling me that he was no doubt surprised at my claim. "A... _person_?" he echoed, sounding worried. I felt his arms tighten around me. "Did they hurt you? What did they want? How'd they get in?"

I shook my head, licking my lips. "No, no... I saw him in the mirror," I said, as if it explained everything. "He... looked like me."

"I mean, he looked like me, but I was there too," I hurriedly explained, realizing how stupid I sounded. "There was _two_ of me."

"Two of you?"

"Y-Yeah..." I confirmed.

Riku's arms loosened a little. "Sora..."

No, no, no, no! He wasn't getting it!

"Don't say my name like that!" I snapped, and then immediately lowered my voice, feeling sheepish. "I... I just hate it when people talk to me in that tone... like I'm crazy..."

Riku sighed, dragging a hand through my hair, as if it was all he needed to do. "Sora, so there was two of you in the mirror. You were probably just really tired, and your eyes were wigging out on you."

"I _felt_ him touch my arm," I muttered a bit coldly.

The petting stopped.

Continuing, I said in a quiet voice, "And I heard someone running after me... and the bathroom door hit someone when I swung it open. Someone was _there_, Riku... As crazy as it sounds."

I heard Riku swallowing thickly, and when he spoke, his voice was a little wary. "What about Paopu?" he asked. "He doesn't like strangers, he would have warned you..."

"He was still outside," I answered, and before Riku could ask why, I added, "...he attacked me."

"Attacked you!"

Riku's hands were suddenly on my shoulders and pulling me up, his wide green eyes studying my face for the truth. Tears of fear were beginning to sting my eyes as I stared back at him, not sure what to tell him, how to make him understand.

He didn't believe me. All of this was wearing on my last nerve, and the fear of losing Riku was only making it worse. If I told him too much, he'd surely think I was crazy... but if I didn't tell him everything, he'd never understand me, and he'd _know_ I was hiding something... But... he didn't believe me anyway.

"I-I went to give him water—" I quickly stuttered. "He went for my throat... b-bit down on his bowl, and I closed the door..."

A look of frustration and relief and regret and confusion crossed Riku's face and he pulled me back into his arms, holding me close as he buried my face into his neck, his fingers clenching in my hair. A curse escaped his lips, his breath tickling my ear. He seemed so helpless in that moment, as though he wanted to do everything in his power to help me, but didn't have a clue how or what to do. It was like he was almost as scared as I was, but for totally different reasons.

"I don't know what's wrong with that damn dog," Riku muttered after a long moment, gently pulling away from me. "We'll find out tomorrow. He's never attacked either one of us..."

He seemed more concerned about Paopu than he was about the other Sora I'd seen in my bathroom. Maybe that was because Paopu was the more realistic kind of fear, but... it still hurt me.

"I don't want to go back home," I stated quietly.

Another sigh from Riku. He started petting me again. "Look... You were probably imagining things, Sora," he said calmly, almost casually. "You can help me start packing up my stuff tomorrow," he suggested. "And that way I can move into your place faster. But... I think, after a good night's sleep, you'll be fine."

I felt utter disappointment twist inside of me.

He really, truly didn't believe me. That confirmed it.

I mean... _imagining_ things? He could have at least said it outright—that I was a freak with a sixth sense, or that I was really nuts, or that I was only hallucinating because I hadn't gotten sleep in three days. _Something_ other than my imagination. I'd _imagined_ another me in the mirror? Imagined a _hand_, cold like _death_ creeping down my arm? Imagined those footsteps coming after me? _Imagined_ my fear?

Bowing my head, I felt those tears building, burning, threatening to fall. I squeezed my eyes shut, but I didn't fight them, feeling their warmth spill down my cheeks as I clung to my boyfriend, no longer feeling his comfort but still seeking it.

Fuck, I was so _tired_... tired of everything... Tired of people not believing, tired of going through all of this alone...

Riku didn't notice I was crying until I started soaking his shoulder with tears. His fingers curled into my shirt—his shirt, something large and comfy I had snagged from the laundry pile to help me feel safe, because it even still smelled like him—and I heard his voice, almost shy with concern.

"Sora...? Sora, what's wrong? Why are you crying?"

_You_, I replied silently, feeling lightheaded and miserable as I buried my face. _I'm crying because of **you**..._

Because he didn't believe me. Because I was really alone now. Because I couldn't trust anyone, not even _him_. Because now, if I did something silly like steal one of his shirts, I wouldn't feel the same sense of security when I snuggled into it.

Why?

It was the first time I had evidence of seeing something _truly_ frightening, and he hadn't taken me seriously.

"I'm not crazy," I croaked, my voice muffled by his shoulder. "I'm not..."

"Shhh, Sora, it's okay... I know you're not," he whispered into my hair, fingers running down my back in soothing gestures. "Shhh... I know..."

"_No_," I cried softly. My body was beginning to shake again. "You _don't_..."

Riku said nothing after that. He knew I was right. Just calmly petting my back the whole time, he let me cry myself out.

When I was done, feeling drowsy as hell, only then did he move and carefully pull away from me, his hands on my shoulders to urge me to sit up. He didn't tell me what he was doing, but I didn't care. I sank against the back of the couch, blanket over my head, and listened as he got up and padded across the carpet into his bedroom, leaving me alone in the den for a few minutes.

While he was gone, I sleepily wondered how _he_ would handle seeing what I had, experiencing what I went through every single day, running on zero sleep and still trying to attend classes, go to work, spend time with friends and stuff, put up with everyone thinking I was insane. For having such a life, I thought I was doing a pretty damn good job dealing with all that shit.

Riku was pretty logical, his thoughts mostly centered on reasoning, stuff he could prove or see for himself and understand. When we were kids, we joked around about ghosts and the afterlife and magic and stuff, but... I don't think he believes any of that anymore. To him, I'm just like a science experiment... something for him to try to fix. My problem has to be scientific for him, probably psychological, physical...

Not spiritual or anything.

I don't see dead people like that kid in that one movie. I can't conjure up ghosts and talk to them like I'm some medium. I'm not some special shell for spirits to possess and use like Tidus used to tell me about after reading his weird comics.

I'm just Sora. Just... paranoid, crazy Sora. And Riku knows that.

...maybe he's right.

I was half-asleep by the time Riku came back. He returned to his seat at my side and pulled me back into his arms—he was wearing casual clothes now, like he was ready for bed too. Within a few moments, I was once again tucked under the blanket and cuddled against him. It wasn't until he tugged the blanket off my face that I saw what he had brought with him.

Clutched in his hands was what looked like a old children's book, its cover worn from years of love.

_Goodnight Moon_ by Margaret Wise Brown.

"What's that?" I murmured, blinking blearily at it.

"_Goodnight Moon_," Riku replied quietly, his fingers tracing over the cover in an almost tender way. "My mom used to read it to me to help me go to sleep, when I was little. I kept it all these years, and now it's going to help you."

I frowned a little at the simplistic cartoon green cover. "And you call _me_ a baby," I sighed, lowering my face onto his leg.

"Yeah, yeah," he said, his voice hiding a laugh. I heard the soft crinkling of the old cover as he opened the children's book. "Just relax and listen. Try to sleep."

Finding it strangely endearing that he was actually doing something so cute for me, I obeyed, hoping it would work. I was a bit skeptical, but, well, I was tired anyway. And sleeping here was better than back at...

No. Stop thinking about it.

Riku cleared his throat and began reading. "In the great green room, there was a telephone..." he said, his voice soft and comforting. "And a red balloon... and a picture of a cow jumping over the moon."

His free hand began trailing through my hair and I closed my eyes, silencing my mind.

"And there were three little bears sitting on chairs, and two little kittens, and a pair of mittens, and a little toy house," he continued, his tone dropping into a quiet murmur, his strong fingers gently moving through my hair. "And a young mouse..."

I was silently relishing the mental image of baby Riku being read bedtime stories.

"And a comb and a brush and a bowl full of mush... and a quiet old lady who was whispering _hush_..."

A small smile pulled at my lips as I relaxed against him, feeling comfort all around me.

"Goodnight room... Goodnight moon... Goodnight cow jumping over the moon."

It was working. Riku always knew how exactly to calm me down. He just knew me too well, I guess.

"Goodnight light, and the red balloon," he whispered. "Goodnight bears. Goodnight chairs..."

Even as his fingers turned the pages and his voice filled me with warm love, I was gradually giving into the sleep demons. My body was too tired to stand up to Riku's lullaby. My mind, as fucked up as it may have been, couldn't compete with Riku's affection.

"Goodnight kittens, and goodnight mittens. Goodnight clocks, and goodnight socks."

_Goodnight..._ After such a scarring experience, it really was turning out to be a good night. Everything seemed so far away, so far in the past, so...

So not worth all this worry.

I wasn't alone after all. No, Riku might not have believed me, but... He was still here. He'd always be here.

There... was nothing to worry about.

"Goodnight little house, and goodnight mouse... Goodnight comb, and goodnight brush," he continued, his fingers still petting, petting, petting, petting... "Goodnight nobody. Goodnight mush... And goodnight to the old lady whispering _hush_."

Nothing to worry about... at all.

"Goodnight stars... Goodnight air..."

_Goodnight, Riku..._

"Goodnight noises everywhere."

He breathed into my hair as I fell asleep, his words laced with a fond smile.

"Goodnight, Sora, you goof," he whispered. "Love you."

-o-o-

I woke to a very unhappy stomach.

_Grrrr_, it was saying, and refused to let me laze around anymore. Damn I was famished... Urgh. I hadn't eaten dinner last night, now that I had a chance to think about it.

Groggy as hell, I opened my eyes to the dim interior of Riku's apartment. Offhandedly I realized that he must have closed his curtains tight for it to be so dark, and that it was sweet of him to go out of his way to make sure I got as much sleep as possible. Well, that was Riku.

I carefully sat up, holding my head, feeling the world spin around me. I think I even groaned.

"Good afternoon, sleepyhead," came Riku's soft laugh. He was no longer on the couch with me, and I figured that he had probably left me as soon as I had fallen asleep last night.

"What time is it?" I rasped, and then immediately winced, rubbing at my throat. Geh... Felt like cotton balls had been jammed down my esophagus.

Riku was already setting a tray of food down in front of me, including some water. My savior! Oh man, what would I do without him?

"It's noon. You slept about fourteen hours," he informed as he started unloading the tray, handing me the water. He sounded a little amused.

"Murgh," I said and took the water, gulping it down.

"I guess it's true," he laughed. "One of the mysteries of the human body is that, despite how many hours of sleep it's been deprived, just _one_ full night's rest can cure it." He paused, watching me drain the glass of water. "So how do you feel?"

"Like shit."

I wiped my mouth and sighed, lifting my eyes to him. He was smiling. It was a calm smile, just enough for me to relax and be civilized, despite my waking mood.

"Thanks," I managed, feeling myself meet his smile with one of my own. "For saving me. And tucking me in... and reading to me."

"Hey, what are boyfriends for?" he said as he took the glass from me, setting it down. He smirked at the subtle blush that painted my cheeks. "Dork."

I immediately pouted, narrowing my eyes at him as I curled into the blanket, defensive. "Muu, meanie. I just woke up."

He reached out and ruffled my hair, his green eyes glittering with amusement. "And I bet you're hungry," he teased as he gestured to the food he'd just set out.

Eggo waffles with butter, peanut butter, maple syrup, and a tall glass of milk—just the way I liked it. I guess my face must have lit up, because Riku snickered at me and patted my shoulder.

"Dig in."

So I did. And as I ate, Riku sat next to me with his lunch—just a simple sandwich and a glass of cranapple juice—and turned on the TV to fill the room with some noise to distract our minds from what was no doubt plaguing us.

I hadn't forgotten about what had happened last night, but instead of worrying about it like I would usually be doing by now, I felt really at ease. Everything felt so normal, just being with Riku like this, eating and watching television on the couch together. I loved it.

"Hmm, full moon tonight," Riku observed quietly as he listened to the news. His mouth was full of chicken sandwich, a dab of mayonnaise at the corner of his lips. He was so cute.

I couldn't wait for him to move in with me.

Now that I was more awake, I did notice that he had a few cardboard boxes set out around the room, and some were already closed and labeled. _CDs and games_, the first one said. He'd already started packing, probably when I'd been sleeping.

My heart swelled with love.

Smiling to myself, I continued my brunch in silence.

-o-o-

Riku let me borrow some clothes so I wouldn't have to return home in my sleepwear. His stuff was definitely big on me, dwarfing my already slim figure, but damn it was comfortable. Refreshed and feeling incredibly good, I snuck onto his computer while he was packing stuff in his bedroom. His electronics were all still hooked up, so I opened up the internet easily and went to Google to find what I was looking for.

"Twin of yourself," was what I typed in. Curiosity was getting the best of me.

Unfortunately, I got crap on that first search, and ended up scrolling past sites talking about cloning, and some gaming forums. Nothing useful.

I didn't want scientific stuff because that's the crap Riku was trying to give me. Logic. Things that pointed to me being crazy. Maybe if I modified the search...

"Double of yourself, legend," was my next try.

Again, crap.

_Geh... there has to be something! It's the internet! There's always something..._

I went through three pages of results before I found that something. _Post traumatic stress disorder_, it read, and the excerpt from the site talked about body doubling. That sounded interesting, even if I hadn't had a traumatic experience to trigger such a disorder.

"Body image," I whispered to myself as I read. "Body doubling or out-of-body feelings can be experienced often as if you're viewing the world from above or behind or as if your body is misaligned from its normal position, i.e. you might experience a sinking sensation as though your legs are beneath ground level."

Hmm, that definitely wasn't what I had experienced. I almost just clicked out of it without finishing, but the next sentence caught my eye.

"Actually seeing a double of yourself (autoscopy) is a class of hallucination that is distinct from, although it may rarely accompany, derealisation."

Seeing a double of myself? Perfect. What the hell was autoscopy, though?

Back to Google, I typed that in next.

"It's associated with astral projection, as in the out of body experience which occurs when the astral body leaves the physical body and goes on a tour of the physical plane," I murmured, shaking my head. I_ hadn't_ been experiencing anything out-of-body though! I continued reading, feeling a little frustrated. "Autoscopy is also associated with seeing one's double or duplicate of one's own body."

Ah-hah! So, I hadn't run into a dead end yet. Okay... I could try changing my search topic. How about...

"Seeing one's double."

Now _that _came up with a lot.

I ended up scrolling through tons of information on schizophrenic stories about hallucinating (definitely not what I was looking for). The more I looked, the more evidence I found pointing towards my insanity. Not cool.

But then, amongst all that psychology, was something called the _doppelganger_ effect.

I knew that word. It definitely rang a bell. Not only was it commonly used in books to depict a person's shadow self, and videogames as a character's twin, but I knew there were legends behind the term. A twin of oneself.

So, for my final search, I typed it in. _Doppelganger_.

After a few minutes of reading several sites, I came up with my answer.

_Meaning "double walker" or "shadow walker" a Doppelganger is also presumed to be the shadow-self that accompanies every human. _

So far so good, even if it was creepy...

_The belief that each person has an identical 'twin' somewhere, though they are unrelated, is a very ancient one. Sometimes the Doppelganger is the direct opposite personality of the real person; a very nice person will have an evil Doppelganger and vice-versa._

I paused for a moment, closing my eyes and thinking back to the other me that I had seen in the mirror. He'd looked exactly like me—with the hair, the face... but also different too. Younger. With weird eyes... blue, yes, but... older-looking. Scary. And that _smirk_... I hadn't gotten a good look at what he was wearing, but... I kind of recalled a choker?

If I _had_ been hallucinating, my mind was one creative storyteller.

Shaking my head, I read on.

_Only the owner of a Doppelganger can see it, and otherwise is invisible to human eyes. However, dogs and cats have been known to see Doppelgangers._

Whoa, what? But... Paopu...

Well, the dog _had _been outside. Maybe it explained his weird behavior... Maybe he'd been acting weird because of _this_.

I frowned, thinking back on it.

When dogs feel threatened, they pee on themselves and act violently, don't they?

Fuck...

I was almost scared to continue reading, but I had to know.

_Legend says that if the two should meet, they will both die, but it is also said that if one sees his double standing behind him when he looks in the mirror, he will die within a day._

My stomach twisted and I felt the blood drain from my face.

Oh no...

Die within a day...?

"Hey Sora, what are you doing in there?" Riku called from the bedroom. "I could use some help."

I quickly closed out of the site and took a deep breath, trying to calm my now racing heart. Swallowing, I glanced toward the doorway where Riku was now standing. He took one look at my pale face and came to me, his brow furrowing in concern.

"Sora, what's wrong?"

I couldn't tell him.

According to the internet, I was either crazy and hallucinating, or... I'd seen my doppelganger and I was going to die. At least with the former option, Riku would believe me. I could never bring up the doppelganger thing.

Either way, I was fucked.

"Nothing," I said, my shaky voice sounding totally unconvincing. "Nothing at all..."

-o-o-

I was _not_ looking forward to going home, but Riku was escorting me, so that made the trip slightly better—only _slightly_ because Riku knew I was hiding something from him, and with my reticence, things were a little awkward between us. Usually the walk from his apartment to my place was a fast one, but today it was a lot longer probably because of our silence, and because of what I feared would be waiting for me.

Call me crazy, but... what if the doppelganger legend was true?

I had _seen_ another me in the mirror.

I was getting really tempted to tell Riku what I'd read, just so I could share some of my fears... But I didn't want to hear him talk to me in that tone again, the tone other people used when they thought I was being weird, and well, crazy.

_Caw!_

I flinched as a crow suddenly took flight from a tree nearby and glided across the street, flapping a few times before perching on a short lamppost in a yard nearby. Stupid bird.

Trying to ignore it, I walked closer to Riku, feeling his arm come around my waist to hold me against him. After years of walking places together, things like this were common—something would startle me, I moved to him, and he provided the comfort. Despite everything that was happening, I hoped it would stay that way forever, schizophrenia and doppelganger problems or not.

As we entered my gated community, Mr. Creepy—Auron, he'd said?—was outside his home, securing the boards over his windows. We were still three houses away when he suddenly looked up and spotted us, pausing in his work to watch our approach. Avoiding his unsettling stare, I promptly veered off the sidewalk to cross the street, Riku still holding onto me and following my change in direction. I could practically feel my neighbor's watchful gaze on us as I calmly headed up my front walk and to the door.

This was it.

"Knife," Riku said, holding out his hand.

I dug into my pocket and handed over my butterfly knife. He expertly flipped it open as I fished out my keys and started to unlock the door. We'd already kind of planned this out. He was going to enter first, find the nearest blunt object, and we were going to go through each room of the house to make sure everything was safe.

My heart was thundering in my chest and I felt sick to my stomach, but I was as ready as I was ever going to be.

Sliding my key out, I turned the knob and pushed open the door, letting Riku inside.

A faint smell—foul and hinting of death—came drifting out, and both Riku and I paused in the doorway. That was strange... My house didn't stink like that.

We exchanged confused glances, and I shrugged.

"It didn't smell yesterday," I said, sounding a little worried. "And if anything died last night... it wouldn't be smelling yet, I don't think."

He nodded in agreement and stepped past the threshold into the entryway, moving to the coat closet where I kept my sports supplies. He grabbed a baseball bat for me and a hockey stick for himself, and then handed back the butterfly knife.

The house was eerily quiet. At first I couldn't figure out why today was really any different than other times, but then I remembered that Paopu was usually there to greet us at the front door. He was still out back, waiting, but the rooms had to be secured before I checked on him.

We searched through the house together, makeshift weapons held at ready each time we opened a closet door or turned a corner, and each time we were met with nothing.

The house was empty and completely safe. Even the bathroom that was the source of my horrors. There wasn't even a dent in the door, or anything out of place to show that I had been chased out of my own home.

Though this should have relieved me, probably, I only felt worse because it was like confirming my fears. Maybe I _was _crazy after all?

"The smell seems to be coming from the attic," Riku said quietly as we circled back to the main hall. Our eyes drifted up to the closed ceiling door.

"I'm not going up there today," I muttered, propping my baseball bat against the wall. I hugged myself, feeling a shudder course through me. I shook my head to clear my thoughts. "I feel so stupid. It's probably just a dead squirrel or something..."

Riku ruffled my hair, smiling gently. "Don't feel stupid. Anyway, the smell's only going to get worse. You sure you don't want me to go up there?"

I nodded, moving toward the kitchen and the back door. "Yeah. I'll bear with it until tomorrow, anyway. I can't smell it from my room, and that's what matters."

"Alright," he said as he followed me. "So I guess it's time to see what's up with the dog."

Hesitating in front of the door, I turned to glance over my shoulder at Riku. "Make him some food and water. Use his spare bowls... The other ones are outside," I said quietly, twisting my hands in my borrowed shirt. I kept remembering how my dog's strong jaws had wrapped around his blue bowl and how scared I had been. Would I be met with the same blind aggression, or...?

No, Paopu loved me. I had probably just spooked him or something, and he'd acted that way to protect himself.

I could do this safely.

I reached out, jiggling the doorknob, whistling and calling. "Paopu! Pupu, baby, Sora's home! I'm going to open the door now!" I kept my voice happy, letting my dog know I was coming.

Standing next to me, holding both bowls steadily, Riku nodded. "Open it."

I unlocked the door and pushed it open, bracing myself.

We were met with a high-pitched whine as Paopu tugged on his leash, trying to poke his head through the doorway, looking miserable. I immediately felt myself relax, relieved, but that was soon overcome with sorrow and worry for my doggy. As I approached him, he weakly pushed his face against my thigh, seeking affection.

He'd probably felt abandoned, or like I'd been mad at him and that's why I had left him outside all day and night. He probably didn't even remember trying to attack me. Poor dog... Even if he had scared the shit out of me, I still loved him.

Feeling my eyes water, I stooped over to hug my stinky, dirty dog, whose whining and whimpering slowly quieted.

"Pupu," I sniffled, rubbing my hands behinds his ears. "You silly dog... Don't worry me again, okay?"

He pushed his wet nose into my face and gave my cheek a friendly lick.

"He seems to be fine," Riku noted as he moved out the door to set the bowls down. "And I bet he's hungry!"

Any other time I would have agreed, but Paopu seemed totally unaffected by the food and water being presented to him. He pulled away from me and sniffed at the bowls, looking disinterested.

"Pupu?" I said, patting his head. "What's wrong?"

His face turned back towards me and he licked my offered hands, pushing his head forward and whining again.

I wiped my eyes with an arm and gave a little nervous laugh. "Hey, I forgive you for nearly biting my head off," I said, rubbing his ears. "Sorry for neglecting you all night. You need to eat now though, okay?"

Maybe it was my imagination, but Paopu seemed to cheer up considerably after that, at least enough to poke his nose around in his food and eat a little when Riku offered the bowl again.

Despite the overwhelming smell of urine on the porch—he really _had_ been peeing on himself all day because his fur coat stunk too—we stayed with Paopu for a while to make sure he ate and got some water. When he refused to touch any more of his meal, we turned on the hose and started watering down the area to help get rid of the smell. Then I pulled out the dog shampoo and we got down to business to wash him.

Paopu loved baths, and once the hose was turned on him, he started barking and dancing around the backyard, shaking his wet coat at us to get us equally drenched. It'd only been a day since my dog had started acting weird, but it had felt like a really long time, and I was filled with an incredible happiness now that he was acting like his goofy self again.

With Riku and Paopu at my side, I felt home again, like last night had just been a bad dream.

We messed around outside for a while, Paopu chasing after Riku, who kept spraying me with the hose. Eventually Riku tripped and went flying into the grass, and I wrestled the hose away from him to get him soaked as well. It was the kind of fun we used to have as kids, and I silently hoped we could have more of it when he moved in.

When we got back inside, after towel drying Paopu mostly off, my eye caught the clock on the microwave and I saw that it was a little after 4PM. We'd been outside for about an hour. The something dead up in the attic stunk even more now. Gross.

Riku closed the backdoor and moved around the happy dog to reach me, his hands immediately going for my wet clothes. An impish gleam was in his eyes as he pushed me towards the hallway. Obviously he was still riled up from our romp out back.

"Mmm, bedroom," he said shortly, lips curling with a naughty smirk. "Clothes off. Now."

Yeah, leave it to Riku to turn this into something sexual.

Snickering, I batted his hands away and hurried down the hall to my room, hearing his laughter chase my back. His hands grabbed at my hips from behind just as I paused inside the room, and I felt him pull me against his firm body. Cold, wet clothes pressed against my skin and I shivered, releasing a silly giggle. His wet silver hair brushed at my neck as his lips went to nip at my ear.

"Shower?" he murmured, his breath warm against my damp skin.

I knew I wasn't going to escape this one.

"Pervert," I replied in a teasing voice, pushing my tush against his hips.

We both knew that was my way of saying yes. He released me only to start undressing himself, his pale face lit with boyish excitement, and I laughed at him as I went to the bathroom to start the warm water.

But I abruptly paused in the doorway, the events of last night rushing back to me. The other me, the chase...

I'd almost forgotten, Riku keeping me lost in a happy daze.

A cautious glance at the mirror provided proof that I was indeed alone in the bathroom. Slowly, I turned fully towards it, staring unblinkingly, almost afraid to look away.

A fully-naked Riku came in before I could start freaking myself out.

"Come on, let's get you out of these wet clothes," he chuckled, his expert hands reaching for the wet jeans he had let me borrow. He paused when he saw that I wasn't moving or responding to him. His wet hair brushed my cheek as he turned to glance at the mirror, his expression concerned. "You okay?"

I gave a small, uncertain nod, not moving my eyes.

Riku calmly watched our reflection with me for a moment, but then he rested his chin on my shoulder, sighing. "Sora..."

"Don't say my name in that tone," I whispered, finally blinking, glancing at him in the mirror. "Sorry..."

He was silent for a while, a frown on his face as he leaned against me. But then he slowly reached out, spreading his fingers as he pushed his hand against the glass. "There's nothing here," he assured, turning his face to brush his lips against my neck, his green eyes still watching me in the mirror. "Just us two."

Our reflection looked so foreign like this, with his naked, lean body pressed against me, an arm curled at my waist, and his other hand meeting the mirror. My hair was wet, drooping to my shoulders in clumpy, dark locks, and with Riku's bigger clothes hanging from my skinny body, I looked so much like a child.

"I know," I murmured, lowering my face.

He pulled our bodies away from the mirror and a little farther into the bathroom, his fingers going back to undoing my pants. I let him undress me and start the shower and pull me in with him, our chilled bodies meeting one another under the warm rush of water.

I ignored the memories of last night, I ignored how creepy my shower curtain was, and the fact that the sun would be setting in just a few hours.

Feeling Riku's hands trace my body, his lips and tongue loving my sensitive skin, I let myself slip away from my fears and give into my boyfriend's talented affections. Our lips met and he pushed me against the tiled wall, fingers gripping a thigh and drawing it up to separate my legs as he grinded into me, our wet skin sliding like silk together. I couldn't stop the groan that I released into the kiss, and that only encouraged him, his hips rocking firmly forward, brushing his warm length against mine.

I didn't even realize I was gasping his name until he nipped my throat. That was how effortlessly he distracted me. Even here, in the room of my fears, Riku could easily help me forget my worries. That alone was comfort enough to enjoy this sexual excursion.

And enjoy it, I did.

-o-o-

The sun was setting by the time Riku realized he had to leave.

I remained sprawled naked on my bed, feeling well-loved and _full _of love as I watched him bustle around my room, searching for some clothes he could wear home. He had school soon, and had to return to his apartment for his things.

A smile pulled across my lips at the knowledge that I could so completely distract Riku that he'd forget the time, just as he could with me so that I'd forget my problems.

"No underwear, no socks, no _pants_—" he kept whining as he moved around my room, digging through laundry piles.

I let him suffer for a few more minutes before I decided to help him. I pulled on some boxers for myself before I went to the laundry room to retrieve what Riku needed. Returning with a pile of clothes, I found him in the doorway, looking flustered and wearing only a shirt a little too tight for him. Grinning, I tossed a pair of his briefs at his head.

"I did our laundry yesterday," I explained as he scowled at me.

"Why didn't you say so ten minutes ago?" he huffed, tugging on his underwear. But then he brightened and pulled me into his arms, smooching my cheek and grabbing my ass. "Thank you daaarling! Already such a wonderful housewife!" he said sarcastically, but cutely, almost in a singsong way.

I snickered and pushed the rest of the clothes into his hands as I pulled away. "Get dressed, you're going to be late."

"Geh!" He immediately began tugging on his pants. "Fuck, fuck, fuck!"

I amused myself by watching him panic as he got dressed. He finished getting ready relatively quickly, and I felt the stirrings of anxiety inside of me by the time he was done making his hair perfect. I didn't want to spend the night alone, but... I couldn't ask him to stay.

"I'll be back tomorrow morning," he insisted as he pulled on some sandals (his shoes were sopping wet out back on the porch). "We can go up to the attic tomorrow to investigate the smell. Probably just a dead squirrel like you said." He straightened his back and smiled at me, mussing my hair before he turned back to the front door. "Arm yourself with air freshener until then."

"I don't have any," I pointed out as I followed him, still wearing only my boxers. "Tidus used it all to try to kill a roach."

Riku laughed at this, rolling his eyes and pulling the door open. "Oh man... Well, then find something to plug your nose," he said, glancing at the ceiling and grimacing. "I'll call you after class to see how you're doing."

Paopu nuzzled into my thigh as we watched Riku step outside, his silver hair catching the soft light of the setting sun. I rested a hand on the dog's head, feeling his tail happily thump against my leg.

"Yeah, have fun in class," I said, managing a small, teasing smile.

"Whatever," he groaned, grinning a little helplessly. He lifted a hand and started down the front steps. "See ya! Love you, and get some rest!"

"Bye," I called after him, giving a small wave of my own.

He blew a kiss at me and then was gone, hurrying down the sidewalk, and I was alone. An icy fear was building inside of me. Trying to brush it off, I turned around and closed the door, locking it, double locking it, and putting its chain on.

"Come on, Paopu... let's get some dinner."

-o-o-

Past seven o'clock, and done lazing around watching TV with my dog, I decided to change my time-wasting strategy and go to my room to play videogames. It was torture staying in my home by myself after what had happened last night, but I was beginning to believe Riku about just hallucinating. Actually, I hadn't really gotten spooked all day, and Paopu hadn't been acting out of sorts either.

Never mind the internet information I had read earlier. Doppelganger in the mirror, dying within a day... It was just a legend. I mean, unicorns are legends too, and those aren't real. It was silly to be scared of dying over some stupid thing I'd read...

I almost felt safe, even without Riku here to distract me.

I passed through the hall, noticing how loud the chirp of crickets were tonight outside my front door. They got especially loud right before the first frost hit, and with autumn's approach, no doubt the little insects were calling to their heart's content before everything froze over. I actually liked crickets because, as long as they kept their song up, it meant no predators were around to interrupt.

Feeling rather happy about things, I smiled to myself and moved through the hall, entering my dark room and moving to the lamp. My door clicked firmly shut behind me. When I twisted the light on, I froze.

My closet door was standing wide open.

It startled me, keeping me rooted to the spot as I stared at it, wondering why the hell it was suddenly open. Paopu came up beside me, happily wagging his tail, not sensing anything, so I relaxed slightly.

A long moment passed before I remembered that Riku had been digging through my room earlier, looking for clothes. He'd probably gone into my closet when I had went to the laundry room to get his stuff. Yeah, that's it... Riku had done it. Nothing to freak out about.

Still... just in case, I glanced down at Paopu.

"Is anything there, boy?" I asked quietly.

He lifted his face and panted at me, tongue rolling out.

"Guess not," I muttered.

I don't know where I got the courage, but I calmly approached the closet and shut it, making sure the door was secure before I turned back around, sighing. Maybe I was just tired of being scared all the time.

First thing after class tomorrow, I was going to get Riku to help me look into some doctors to help me. That was probably the best thing to do. I mean, even if I wasn't crazy, they could at least recommend ways to deal with my paranoia.

I switched my playstation on, changed games, and warily climbed into bed (over the imaginary monster) with my controller. The game was Riku's—Grand Theft Auto, whichever version, I didn't care—and despite its crude subject content, it was a _great_ stress reliever, and provided hours of mindless entertainment. Paopu settled on the bed next to me with a quiet whine, watching the TV as my character drove crazily around in a fancy car, running over pedestrians, hitting street signs, and dodging cops.

It didn't even occur to me that my dog was being more protective than usual. Usually he'd just lay in one spot and not move until morning, but tonight it seemed that he wanted to follow me everywhere. I would have kicked him off my bed, but I was feeling a little lonely without Riku.

Just past nine, I'd had my fill of destruction, and got up to turn off the game. By then, I noticed that my dog had his head resting between his paws, his eyes raised to watch the ceiling, which was slightly unsettling.

I left the room to get my knife and cell phone, and as soon as I had curled up in bed again, Riku called. Its buzzing gave me a small scare, and even Paopu raised his head to look at the phone, but I smiled as I answered, snuggling into my blankets.

"Hey. Out of class?" I asked, despite the obvious answer.

"Yup, it was boring as hell. I should have skipped," he groaned. "I hate these night classes."

"If you skip much more, the professor will start taking points off your final grade," I said as I flipped the latch on my butterfly knife. I unfolded the weapon and started studying it.

Riku gave a small laugh. "Yeah, I know. So how are you?"

"Bored," I muttered.

"That's good news," Riku commented, and I knew he was being sincere. If I'd been scared, I would have told him so, and he knew that. "Oh, but speaking of which, I saw your creepy neighbor at the convenience store on my way to the bus stop."

I paused, frowning at that, my knife between two fingers. "He... didn't do anything, did he?"

"Nah," Riku said, and I released a sigh of relief that I didn't know I had been holding. "I went in to get a coke, and there he was, looking through the medicine in the back. He said hi to me... I guess I'd been staring."

"Medicine?"

"Maybe he needed Tylenol," Riku suggested offhandedly. "Anyway, it was nothing big."

It still made me worry though. I had a bad feeling...

_Beep_.

I blinked, glancing at my cell phone window. The little battery was empty and flashing.

"Fuck, my cell's dying," I sighed, disappointed I wasn't going to get to talk longer. "I gotta go charge it. I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"

Riku sounded let down too. "Alright, take it easy," he said. "Love you."

"Love you too," I replied quickly. "Bye." And I thumbed the hang up button, eyeing my charger at the plug beneath my the window. I should have remembered to check my phone's battery earlier. I had been with Riku last night, which was when I would have plugged it in, had I been home.

I calmly got up from the bed, hearing Paopu's collar jingle behind me as he rose to his feet too.

"It's okay, boy. I'm just going over here," I assured, but it didn't make any difference. I heard him leap onto the carpet and follow me anyway. "Silly dog," I murmured as I reached the window to pick up my phone charger.

Past my curtains, I could see the full moon rising, its pale light illuminating the dark sky. I hesitated a moment, raising my hand to draw back the curtains, my eyes raised to watch the sky. My fingers moved up, pulling the lock free, and I slid the window open a little, letting a cool breeze drift into the room, along with the steady chirp of the crickets in the yard.

Sometimes I just liked to stop and stare outside, as if expecting to see something there against the moonlight, but I never did. It always freaked me out though, imagining that one day I might just happen to. I stayed there a few minutes, phone clutched in my hand waiting to be charged, but I didn't care at the moment, my eyes studying the pretty moon tonight.

I remembered learning about the meaning of lunacy in psychology class, and how people had once thought the moon drove people mad based on its lunar cycle. Lunatics, they had called them.

Maybe I was a lunatic too.

A hazy cloud drifted over the face of the full moon, dimming its shine, and the crickets' shrill song came to a curious lull. And then it stopped completely.

I noticed the silence immediately, and it seemed Paopu did too. He brushed against my legs as he turned to the door, face pointed in the direction of the hallway, his body suddenly tense. His floppy ears twitched a little as he stood, unmoving, unblinking...

Kind of like he had heard something.

"Paopu?" I whispered, brushing my hand over his head, getting a little weirded out. "Did you—"

He moved away from my hand and hurried to the bedroom doorway, tail rigid and horizontal. The door was closed, but that didn't stop him from standing guard, on complete alert.

Had he heard something? Why was he looking at the door like that...?

I stood still, hardly breathing, fingers tightly curling around my phone as my heart began to speed up, anxiety swirling inside of me, making me feel sick. The very air seemed to hum with warning as I stared, watching my dog, listening for something, _anything_.

If Paopu did sense something, I wasn't crazy after all. No, I was in trouble... because it meant that _someone else was in the house_.

Sucking in a long, trembling breath, I took a step back, wondering what the hell I was supposed to do if someone really _was_ in the house.

Ah! My phone! _Call for help, call for help, call for help..._

With shaking fingers, I pulled it open and moved to dial 911—

But the battery was already dead.

"Fuck!" I hissed.

Slowly, as soft as a whisper, came the brush of something firm against the hallway wall.

_Holy shit! _

I had _not_ been imagining that! I clamped a hand over my mouth and quietly started moving back, my mind reeling with panic. Paopu was already crouching down, his lips pulling back as he glared at the door. A low, threatening growl issued from his throat.

No, no, nooo! This couldn't be happening! I was trapped in my room, and Paopu was sensing danger from the only possible escape!

Outside the door, just beyond the tiled entryway, came the sure creak of the floorboards, and the slow, slow dragging of something sharp against the wall. Paopu's back legs shifted a little as he ducked even more, growl rising.

My breath hitched in my throat and I dropped to my knees by the phone charger, panicking to find the cord, my fingers fumbling with the plug as I tried to find the hole to insert it. The phone gave a happy chime as it woke from its dead state and immediately went into charging mode. All of its other functions were locked, but maybe if I gave it a minute to itself, it'd have enough power to make one call.

That's all I needed. At least, I hoped.

Unfortunately, the cell phone's song alerted whatever it was that stood just beyond my door. A heavy, rattling breath sounded from the hallway, and then curious sniffing, almost like another dog.

_Bark! Barkbark!_

Paopu's voice rang sharply in the quiet, tense atmosphere. Outside my flimsy door, a growl resounded back.

_Dog? Wolf?_ I wondered in panic. But that was a ridiculous thought because I _knew_ my front door had been locked, and so was my back do—

Oh no. _Was_ it? Had I...? But... dogs couldn't open doors...

...if it was a dog at all...

My heart clenched in fear, but I managed to struggle to my feet, feeling my hands shake as I grabbed the edge of my bed to move past the door without falling. I was too scared to hurry, and I didn't even have a place to hurry _to_. My only other escape would have been the door in my bathroom, but it was securely deadbolted, and I don't even know where the key was anymore.

I was fucked!

The doorknob squeaked, slowly turning on its axis, just as I stumbled past Paopu. I froze in my tracks and watched helplessly as the door creaked open, the raspy breathing coming louder now.

Long, bony fingers curled around the edge of the door, sharp black fingernails slicing into the wood as the creature beyond entered my room.

_Not a dog_, was the first thing that came to my mind.

It was human, slightly hunkered down as if it couldn't keep itself upright. A hand flung out, slamming the door open, the knob cracking against the wall. The sharp noise made me flinch, and my slight movement was all it took to catch the thing's attention.

Slowly, its booted feet shuffled against the wood floor, facing me, and took a step onto the carpet.

Paopu didn't budge, looking positively _feral_ as he continued growling at the stranger, who paused just at the threshold of my lamp light where I got a better look at it.

In all aspects of my paranoia coming true, it should have been my creepy neighbor. But it wasn't. Then, it should have been my doppelganger, right? But that wasn't it either.

He was human, male, and... most definitely _sexy_, dressed all in black, a stark contrast against his death-pale skin. His shirt could hardly even be called that, just a vest thing that exposed his entire chest and clasped right under his bellybutton, and the pants he wore rode so low that they were barely hanging on, flashing not only the beautiful curve of his hips, but also a hint of silver hair trailing southward, past his silver-studded belt.

Silver hair, indeed. Goth clothes or no, I knew that head of hair when I saw it. I didn't have to see his face to know.

It was Riku.

But...

It _wasn't_.

Not my Riku. My Riku had just gotten out of class. My Riku didn't have raspy breath like his lungs were full of cobweb, or stand stooped like something straight out of a horror flick.

My mind flashed with the image of the other Sora I had seen in the mirror—two Soras—and I suddenly made the connection, as frightening and confusing as it was. What I had seen had been real. Two Soras, and now two Rikus.

But... if it was really a doppelganger, I wasn't supposed to be able to see _Riku's_.

I caught myself stumbling back in surprise, clutching a hand to my chest, my heart beating frantically as I tried to make sense of what I was seeing. Again, my movement alerted the Riku look-alike, and my breath caught in my throat as his head lifted a little.

Through his stringy silver bangs, I caught sight of milky-white eyes. Lifeless blue lips parted with a rasped groan, revealing a line of sharp teeth fitted for a shark, and he took another slow step forward.

_Zombie_.

Though this figure was nothing like the undead depicted in movies, that was the only thing my scared mind could pin him with, and that knowledge alone—_real zombie—_made me do what I did.

I _SCREAMED_—

And fell right on my ass as I scuttled backwards, putting more distance between us.

My frightened voice snapped Paopu out of his threatening position and launched him right into attack. He lunged forward, teeth snapping at the zombie's arm, but the creature, slow as it had seemed just before, suddenly reacted with surprising speed and ducked back, crouching impossibly low on all-fours, just like the dog.

What. The. HELL—

**_BARKBARK!_**

Paopu paced the doorway, livid and dangerous, his growl returning full force, drowning out the rattling hiss of the intruder. But milky eyes narrowed at Paopu, blue lips pulling back to reveal his own sharp teeth, and the zombie Riku _snarled_.

They launched from the ground at the same time, claws and fangs sinking into each other as they rolled around on the ground, kicking and tearing and releasing the most awful howls of primal, animalistic _fury_.

I couldn't do anything, scared tears running down my cheeks as I watched helplessly as my dog battled with a creature that looked so much like Riku. I knew immediately Paopu wasn't going to win this fight though, and as terrified as I was, I had to do something.

That was about the time it crossed my mind that this was proof I wasn't nuts, that I really _was_ seeing this, that his horror was _real_, not some dream or part of my imagination. Years of teasing, being called names because of my paranoia, all those stressful nights alone had led to this one truth. All that mattered was that I get out of it alive.

All of my life had led up to this one encounter, and I was completely unprepared.

Dog and zombie came tearing around my room, knocking into my DVD stack and sending it crashing to the floor, CDs popping out of their cases and plastic cracking under the boots of the undead. Their growling reverberated throughout the room, echoing, vibrating, clenching inside of me as I stared, petrified. I hardly remember moving when the fight came right at me. I just went leaping onto my bed, scrambling and crying to the other side, landing with a harsh _thunk_ on the floor.

I'd ended up under the window, my chest heaving with scared gasps, unable to catch up with my frantic heart.

There was a sharp yelp as Paopu flew into the entertainment center with a painful _crunch_, and he landed in a heap on the floor, just a mass of golden fur dotted with red blood. My stomach twisted with fear—and worry—was he dead? Unconscious? Was I alone now? Holy shit, holy SHIT, I couldn't fight on my own!

I watched, eyes wide, tears leaking down my face, as the zombie straightened, shaking himself, and turned to face me, hissing.

My phone. Could it make that one call? Did I have time...?

But just as the creature hunkered down to make his leap, Paopu came at him again, his bark brave but reckless as he intercepted the monster. I took this distraction as a good sign and snatched my open butterfly knife off my night table, quickly kneeling back at my phone to tear it off its charger before I ran for the door.

_Fuck fuck fuck!_

The phone turned off just as I went to dial a number. Desperately, I triggered it back on, but its cheery chime caught the zombie's attention before I made it to the door.

Within a moment, the Riku creature was there in front of me, scuttling right up the wall and turning to face me, milky eyes narrowed dangerously, his breath coming in a hissed growl. His silver hair dangled past his bloodless face, those teeth glinting in the dim lighting, and I had a second to realize I was in deep shit before the zombie sprung from his perch on the wall, knocking me clean to the floor.

My breath left me as I landed hard, dazed, feeling a heavy, painful weight on top of me, only to realize that the monster had pinned me down. A powerful hand swatted at mine, sending the phone spiraling into the wall, its delicate case shattering upon impact, sending battery and other parts flying.

Heart seizing with terror, I stared straight up into the face of a nightmare—Riku's face, dead, eyes empty, lips lifeless, those _teeth_ like a monster's—

And Paopu lunged at him again, rolling him off me, and I was suddenly free again, scrambling to my feet and toward the—

_Fuck!_ They were fighting in front of the door!

I stumbled back, watching with horrified fascination as Paopu wrestled the zombie right into the lamp, and I screamed right as the thing crashed into the floor.

The room plunged into darkness, and in panic, I blinked frantically, my eyes taking a while to adjust to the soft hue of light coming in from the open window. All the while, I heard the keening of the zombie and Paopu's strong growling as they continued to throw each other into walls.

When I heard the quick snap of bones breaking, and a startled yelp from my dog, I knew it was over.

A ribbon of pale moonlight illuminated the zombie as he held Paopu, unmoving and neck bent at an impossible angle, between his strong hands.

Paopu was dead.

My stomach twisted with sick realization and I felt myself sink to my knees, clutching my knife to myself.

Zombie Riku huddled in front of the doorway, his long nails curling into Paopu's golden fur, and ripped his still-warm stomach open, spilling dark liquid and intestines onto my carpet. I could only watch, hand clamped over my mouth, as my boyfriend's undead twin began tearing into my beloved dog, pale face soaked with blood as he ate, long teeth easily shredding the dead animal's flesh.

As I pressed myself against the wall just under my window, not having the strength to even try moving my bed to try escaping out into the yard, I could only watch, just _watch_.

An empty feeling, as chilling as death, settled within me as I listened to the sickening crunch of bones and slurp of warm fluids. I hardly realized I was still crying, and my entire body was shaking as I clung to myself, my butterfly knife no comfort at all as I clutched it in one hand.

My dog was dead. My phone was broken. My escape was blocked. My only weapon... _useless_... And no one was coming to find me until _morning_.

A shadow passed in front of the window, blocking the full moon's radiance. Slowly, my head raised, eyes wide and terrified, to find the last thing I needed.

There, perched on my windowsill like some wicked cat, was my doppelganger. His lips curled into a delightful grin when he saw me, his blue eyes shining strangely from his silhouette.

My breath caught in my throat, everything else forgotten—Paopu dead, zombie Riku, trapped and helpless and scared and—I just stared up at him, tears drying on my cheeks as I studied my shadow twin, who found my petrified look quite entertaining.

A long black skirt fluttered in the night breeze around him, slits riding high to reveal firm, smooth legs covered in black spider web stockings. His boots scraped against the sill as he shifted, jingling two ringlets attached to his black belt. The sheer net shirt he wore hid nothing of his chest, and a black choker circled his neck, a steel ring—bent into an asymmetrical heart—dangling beneath his chin.

One of his delicate hands clutched the wood beneath him, but his other fingers gripped the edge of the window, his glowing eyes glittering with dangerous amusement as he smiled down at me. With a face younger than mine, he would have looked innocent if not for the goth attire and predatory expression.

"Hello, pretty," his soft voice drawled in a definite purr. "Don't _you_ look delicious...?"

As his lips pulled into another pleased look, I saw the glint of two fangs in the moonlight.

_Vampire?_

And then he came slinking in through the window.

_Holy shit_, this was **real**! I was going to _die_!

Utter fear came over me, fueling me with adrenaline, giving me strength I didn't know I still had. I scrambled up, sense fleeing me as I spun, stumbling over my own feet to my door, feeling my breath burning in my throat as I lifted my head, and through my tears I caught sight of the hallway beyond—the attic door was hanging open, but my mind couldn't care about why, my terror blinding all thoughts except the pure instinct to _run_.

A flash of silver hair was suddenly there, intercepting my escape, zombie Riku's strong fingers grasping at my arms as I slammed into him, screaming and crying and trembling. Blood painted the lower half of his face, dripping from his chin in tiny streams—Paopu's blood. I felt the creature's breath stuttering inside of him as he eyed me with his cloudy gaze, lips smeared with red as he parted them to moan at me, a deep, desperate sound of hunger.

Panicked, I turned again, struggling away from his grasp, diving for the bathroom—there was a door in there—locked, yes, but maybe I could break the glass, climb through, _run_—

But my own face was suddenly in front of me, my doppelganger grinning as he shoved me back. I flailed with a scream, falling right back into a firm, cold body—the zombie's!—and I thrashed wildly to get away from him, tripping over a laundry pile and falling into my ruined entertainment center, feeling pain lance up my side.

I heard giggling, but I was scared to look, my eyes searching for another escape.

The window.

Maybe if I jumped from my bed, I could catch the edge and pull myself up—_just try_, my mind whispered. _Anything_.

This time I got three feet, not even to the bed, when the zombie was suddenly in front of me again, easily snatching my wrists and jerking me to the center of the room, past the corpse of my dog. I tried pulling away, but his grip was steel, keeping me in place, completely unmoved by my frantic kicking, kneeing and screaming—

A cold, cold chill grew at my back, and I somehow _knew_ the other Sora was there, standing and watching me with his ravenous smile.

"Going somewhere?" he asked, and I felt my body seize, tense, his voice so close, right at my ear.

My legs were shaking so much I could hardly stand now, but the zombie kept me from falling. It never crossed my mind to reply to the monster behind me, and he must have known that, his tone laced with delight as he spoke again, suddenly appearing—oh God, _so fast_—in front of me, at the zombie's side. His fingers twisted in the Riku's hair, his lips forming a malicious smile.

"I thought you loved Riku, precious," he teased, and the zombie gave a soft groan in response. "Don't you want to give him a kiss?"

Stomach twisting with disgust, I violently shook my head, making a deep, sickened sound as I looked at all of that blood covering the pale face before me, and those _teeth_...

"No, no, no, _no_," I managed, voice sounding like some helpless mantra.

"Riku wants a kiss," the vampire stated with a sick sense of pleasure in his words. "Don't you, pet?"

A raspy groan was the response—was that a _yes_?—and I whimpered, tears blurring my vision as I desperately took a step back, trying to take my arms with me, to no avail. The zombie firmly held me, fingers smearing my dog's blood against my arms as he shifted to pull me closer, his face leaning forward.

"That's right, precious," Sora drawled sweetly, right as I gave a choked cry and the zombie's lips met mine. "I know how much you love him. How you fucked each other so thoroughly all those nights. We were watching, every time you made love."

My body gave a noticeable shudder, my heart beating erratically and making my head spin. I was practically hyperventilating, breath coming in short, quick gasps—but through my nose, my lips firmly shut to block out the zombie's kiss as he brushed his blood-smeared mouth against me, almost nuzzling, dirtying my face, his breath a rancid, slightly warm gust against my cheek.

The tears kept coming, burning my eyes, and that was the constant that kept telling me that this nightmare was real. _Real_. The metallic smell of blood choked the air, clawing my raw throat, and I couldn't swallow the lump keeping my voice back from screaming and screaming and screaming.

"Mm, too bad," came the vampire's sultry purr. "I would have liked the screaming." He paused almost thoughtfully, eyes glittering dangerously over zombie Riku's shoulder. "I bet your beloved would produce the most pleasant cries. I wonder if I should stalk him next, hmm?"

I wrenched myself away from the zombie's foul face, and choked out a sharp "_NO!_" as I bowed my head, shaking it. "N-Not Riku!"

"I could easily throw him down, ravage his beautiful body, and I bet he would _love_ it," Sora continued pleasantly, voice dripping into a _wicked_ tone. "Imagine the screams. He might even make a nice pet... Twin revenants. I like that."

"_NO!_" I cried, trying to shut out his words, not wanting to hear these cruel threats. I didn't understand, I didn't know what to do, why they were here. My body, shaking uncontrollably, weak with terror, slumped, and the zombie released me, letting me fall to my knees.

That was when I noticed something hard pressing into one of my hands—my knife. I was still clutching it, a last lifeline, and hardly one at that.

A cold hand curled into my hair, lifting my tear-stained face, my eyes wide as I gazed up at the monster that looked so much like me.

"No?" he asked, feigning a pout, before his lips pulled into a cruel smirk again. "Then beg for mercy."

Anger flared inside of me, twisting with my rising fear, and my hand came up, faster than I knew was possible, and my knife went for the vampire's face. Fingers clamped around my wrist and easily wrenched the small weapon away, the shiny steel bending like a stick and snapping, a mere toothpick. The handle and blade, separated, fell to the carpet with the last of my hope.

"_Beg_," the vampire repeated, eyes flashing dangerously above me, and I heard myself whimper, knowing there was nothing else I could do. "If you beg, I'll let him live. Beg for mercy, and I will make it easy for you."

Behind me, I heard the soft groan and raspy breath of the zombie Riku, and I knew I wasn't going anywhere.

Trembling, I managed a thick, painful swallow, and felt myself give in. The fingers released my hair and I slowly, weakly bowed at his feet, feeling desperate sobs hitch inside of me, my tears dripping onto his boots.

Oh God... I'd do anything—beg, cry for mercy, _yes_, just to get out of this. The prospect of Riku suffering through this too terrified me as much as the knowledge that this was _real_.

"P-_Please_..." I rasped, curling my nails into the carpet. I squeezed my eyes shut, forcing myself to continue. "Leave Riku alone... _P-Please_ don't hurt him..."

A strained silence filled the room after that, and somewhere a piece of me hoped they had left, and I was safe now—

But no.

Fingers tugged at my hair, forcing me to my feet. I let out a thin, half-whimpered moan and kept my eyes closed.

Before I knew it, I was being roughly shoved onto my bed, crying out as my head connected sharply with the headboard, disorienting me for a moment. I cracked my eyes open, vision swimming, as a shadowy figure climbed onto the bed after me—the vampire—his movements sly and elegant, with wicked purpose as he knelt over me, dragging a hand up my body to clutch my shoulder.

Through the moonlight, I saw his frigid blue eyes studying my scared expression. His skin was icy as he cupped my chin..

"That's right, precious," he whispered, dragging his nails down my cheeks.

I could _feel_ his words enter me, surround me, fill my mind with only him as I stared up, up, unable to look away from his captivating gaze. That blue, almost glowing in the soft light of the full moon. Almost... Beautiful...?

_Touch me, _his voice whispered to me as his face drew near, lips brushing against my jaw._ I want to feel you... I want **all **of you_.

A pleasant tremble coursed through me and I felt my heart tug with something... _different_. Something inside of me panicked when I listened to Sora's silent words, and brought my hands up to his smaller body. His skin was chilly as I drew my palms over his exposed stomach, up under his sheer shirt to skim his chest.

_That's right_, he encouraged, and gave a cute little groan out loud._ I love you, precious. _

My heart was racing in excitement, betraying my dazed, confused state of mind, but I couldn't stop anything, not even the intent path my fingers were making over the other Sora's body, slipping under his skirt and making him squirm with anticipation.

He was a fine actor, making my pulse quicken for what he really wanted. Warm _blood_. The part of me that realized this was the same part that remembered that I was still that scared Sora, trapped under a vampire and cornered by a zombie that looked like my boyfriend.

But the rest of me had already fallen under this clever creature's spell, his eyes dancing before my gaze, lulling my mind into a pleasant dreamlike state. All of my worries escaped me, and I felt my lips smile.

_You'll make a nice pet, yes, _he silently giggled, clutching my hips and grinding against me, eliciting a sharp gasp._ All mine._

I squeezed my eyes shut, tears slipping from them, but now I no longer knew what they were for. Why had I been crying? Why would I be sad about being with—

_Master. Call me Master, little one._

"N-Nnn... M-Master..."

My voice sounded so foreign, deep and heated with pleasure.

_I love you_, Master whispered soundlessly, his face tenderly nuzzling my neck._ Don't struggle. This won't hurt at all._

We rocked together, a passionate dance of false affection, my entire body warm with love for the creature giving me such exquisite attention. I released a grateful groan as his teeth sank into me, my fingers clutching at his small ass to pull him forward, our grinding continuing and filling me with a familiar, lusty need.

Wait... _was_ this familiar...? Who else did I do this with?

_I love you, little one_, Master said in his silent way as he sucked gingerly at my neck. _Do you love me too? Say you love me._

My tears were falling faster now, confusing me. Through my gasps, I managed to rasp out what Master wanted to hear, though my heart twisted inside of me. "Ahh.. l-love... y-youuu... nnnghh..."

But did I...? What was I missing...? Who was I forgetting...?

Mind spinning, I tried to focus, a difficult task considering Master's hand kept squeezing me through my thin boxers. Still, there was something. Through all of that disturbing pleasure, through all of the haze clouding my mind, I could feel it.

_Riku..._

The name came to me, _from_ me.

Master's fingers curled into my arousal and I felt myself screaming, throwing my head back and writhing with—

With what?

It wasn't pain, was it?

_Mmm, so good..._ Master crooned, his lips drawing my life from me. _So good..._

Feeling was fading, but I was still aware of our mockery of sex. Movements growing sluggish... that silky voice invading my thoughts...

What was I looking for again...?

_Home,_ was the whispered reply, echoing in my darkening mind. _Sleep well, little one... Sleep well._

Home...

Yes, sleep...

Sleep was good...

_Goodnight. Say goodnight. That's it, just a little more..._

Goodnight stars…

_Good boy. Sleep._

Goodnight air…

_Sleep._

Goodnight noises everywhere…

* * *

_--fin--_

_Here concludes the three parts to Goodnight Moon. _

_Read on to find out more._

* * *

So, I bet you're _confused_, eh? XD Well, don't worry. There's gonna be an epilogue to sorta explain everything—the smell in the attic, Auron the creepy neighbor, and even why vampire Sora had attacked on a full moon. In all actuality, this three-part story was just the _beginning._

**If you review, _PLEASE _do not give away the ending.**

So, until the epilogue explains what you want to know... Here's the necessary info.

_Credit:_ Vampire Sora and zombie Riku are actually property of Dark Ki from her fanfic _Turnabout _(and sequels)—be sure to check out Goodnight Moon's co-written sequel to find out what happens with this bizarre crossover!

As for the actual information on doppelgangers (and other things), I got that off the internet. I also do not own the children's book _Goodnight Moon_ by Margaret Wise Brown, nor the song "Goodnight Moon" by Shivaree. A HUGE thanks to my friend Desiree for the butterfly knife information all those months ago! I'd also like to thank Dark Ki, Aoi Nikko, Mistress Nashya, Vash's Girl, and Lane for encouraging me all those times! XD It's been fun. Can't wait for the sequel!


	4. Bridge: what should i do

_Author Notes:_ Happy Halloween. :D Here is the too-long-to-be-called-epilogue that I dubbed with the term "Bridge" since it leads directly into Goodnight Moon's sequel. Yes, sequel. Notes are at the end. Enjoy!

* * *

_"How can you save me  
When the dark comes here tonight  
To take me up to my front walk  
And into bed where it kisses my face  
And eats my head..."_

_— Shivaree, "Goodnight Moon"_

* * *

_Bridge:_ **oh what should i do i'm just a little baby**

-o-o-

"_Hey, this is Sora. I can't get to my phone right now—or I'm ignoring you—so just leave a message and I'll get back to you when I can._"

Sora wasn't answering his cell phone.

In fact, as many times as Riku had tried calling it, it always immediately picked up with Sora's cheerful voicemail.

This normally wouldn't be a cause for panic, but Riku knew Sora better than that. Sora's cell phone would have been charged by now, he always kept it on the highest ring when he wasn't at school or at work, and he _always_ answered when Riku called.

So, throughout his morning, during his class and on the walk over here, Riku had come up with a few possibilities as to why he kept getting voicemail.

Sora could be mad at him for some totally illogical reason—Riku was pretty sure he hadn't done anything to warrant that. Sora could have lost his phone sometime since last night, which was slightly more illogical than the last possibility, considering that Sora kept that phone at his side like he needed it to breathe. Or, Sora could have accidentally broken it, or Paopu could have hidden it, or... Well, Riku didn't know.

He decided to vent his frustration into the voicemail.

_Beep_.

"Dammit, Sora! Why aren't you picking up your phone! I'm almost to your house!" And then softer, more concerned, "Are you mad at me for some reason, baby? Usually you call me before class, and after, and... Oh never mind, we'll talk about it when I get there."

Sora did remember that Riku was coming this morning to look in the attic with him, right? Sora wouldn't forget something like that...

Feeling a worried flutter inside of him, he flipped his phone closed and stuffed it into his pocket, deciding to hurry the rest of the way.

It was a relatively nice day, so Riku was surprised when he didn't see Sora's neighbors outside as they usually were. Old Lady Winkle was not, in fact, walking her ill-tempered rat terrier, nor was Sora's proclaimed "Mr. Creepy" out making renovations on his home like he did most mornings. Maybe they were having tea together or something.

Riku half-jogged up Sora's front walk and stopped in front of the door, pausing a moment to take a deep breath, trying to be patient with himself so he wouldn't fire off a million questions at Sora and upset him. In all honesty, Riku couldn't remember the last time they had been without contact with each other for so long. Yeah, it had only been like thirteen hours, but still...

Riku didn't like it when his routine was messed up.

Knowing Sora's doorbell didn't work, he pounded a fist against the wooden frame, calling out.

"Sora, I'm here!"

Pretty soon he'd hear the happy barking of Paopu, like usual, and Sora would follow right after his silly dog.

But as Riku stood there, seconds ticking by, he was only met with silence. The eerie kind.

Well... That was okay. Sora should be expecting him, so Riku could just walk in, like he sometimes did.

Pulling out his keys, he swiftly unlocked the door both ways and pushed it open—

_CLANG._

—only to be met with the damn chain.

"Fuck..."

Okay, so maybe Sora _hadn't_ been expecting him (which was weird...). Maybe he was sick in bed or something and had turned off his phone so he wouldn't be bothered...? Then again, if that was true, Sora would have called him and told him he was going to do that. Still, Riku smiled, figuring that _if_ Sora was bed-ridden and didn't want to get up, Riku could pamper him all day, sorta like he had yesterday afternoon.

Those thoughts faded, however, when he again noticed the strange absence of Paopu's barking and jumping at the door, excited to see Riku. The dog never missed the opportunity to greet him, so without him there on the other side of the door, it was kind of... _weird_.

Were Sora and Paopu were out back or something? Well, Riku sure wasn't going to get in through the front door with the chain on, so to the backyard he went, hopping off the porch to the side fence. He pulled the gate open and hesitated there, frowning when he didn't see or hear Sora or Paopu anywhere nearby.

Maybe they'd gone for a walk...? No, Sora had left his chain on...

Getting a little more worried, Riku closed the gate and crossed the green lawn, stepping over dog toys and rusting gardening tools to reach the back door. He was about to use his key again when, curiously, he tried the knob.

The door swung easily open, surprising Riku.

Why had it been unlocked? Sora _always_—

Then again, Riku couldn't remember locking it yesterday after giving Paopu a bath.

Oh no.

His stomach gave a sick churn and he immediately rushed inside, fearing for the worst. The _one_ day he leaves the door unlocked, something bad happens? What were the odds...? What if Sora had been kidnapped, or raped, or, or—

_Stop thinking about it! Just find him!_

The scent of death hung heavily in the air, far worse than it had the previous day. Whatever was rotting in the attic was really getting into the decomposition stage. But then... that wasn't all that he was smelling, he realized.

Tucking his keys away, he stopped in the kitchen, making a disgusted face and trying not to hurl as he tried to pick out the different odors.

Smelling dead animal was awful, yes... But there was also... something metallic—rusty-smelling. And... _bile_? Urgh, what a _terrible_ combination.

Clamping a hand over his mouth, Riku gagged, feeling his eyes water as he tried to hold back a revolted groan. The smell was so rancid, it nearly _hurt_ to breathe. He wouldn't blame Sora for not being home, with his place reeking _this_ bad...

Still... Sora had kept the chain on, meaning he was here... unless he had suddenly changed routine and started using the back door. Not likely.

As he curled a hand into his shirt, over his churning stomach, he slowly began moving into the hallway, an apprehensive feeling building within him as the stench grew stronger. A peek into the den area uncovered nothing, so he continued, swallowing thickly and momentarily closing his eyes as a shudder coursed through him.

Something was _wrong_... Very wrong. Too many little coincidences were stacking up, making him sick with dread. No calls, no answering, Paopu missing, Sora not there to let him in, chain still on the door, backdoor open, house too quiet, the smell—oh _God_, the smell...

And the attic door was open.

Passing under it, he raised his eyes to glance up into its shadowy depths, lifting a hand to cover his nose. The rotten smell was definitely coming from in there, but...

His gaze lowered, focusing on the open doorway of Sora's bedroom. Just beyond it was a few scattered DVD cases, a few of them crushed. Next to them, he saw some discoloration of the carpet... like someone had spilt paint.

Maroon paint.

His bad feeling grew worse and the blood drained from his face, his heart fluttering, nervous, _scared_.

"S-Sora...?"

His voice sounded totally unlike himself, trembling with worry and a level of fear he hadn't known he was capable of.

He took a step closer, nearly choking on his breath, tears stinging his eyes as the rusty, vomit-like scent grew more intense. Suddenly, he didn't want to know what was in there, how this investigation would turn out... Sora was his only concern, and his instincts were screaming at him, telling him things were _not right_, that Sora was...

Another step, and Riku had to squeeze his eyes shut, not wanting to look as he drew closer, closer, trepidation rising within him.

_Oh God, oh **God**..._

His breath was coming in sharp gasps from behind his shaking hand by the time he felt his shoes hit the soft carpet of Sora's room, one gently kicking a stray DVD case. An unmistakable buzz caught his attention, the erratic movement of familiar insects—feasting _flies_. Stomach churning, he paused in the doorway, feeling a hot tear glide down his cheek as he slowly slipped his eyes open.

Blood. The room in disarray. The window open. Sheets twisted and dotted with red.

A messy _carcass_ on the floor—

"Oh my **_God_**—!"

The cry was choked out in a weak voice as he clutched his stomach, taking in the appalling sight before him. The only comfort was that the shredded corpse in front of him was too small to be Sora. Through all of the reds and browns of blood and spilled entrails, he saw a hint of golden fur, and realized whose remains littered the room.

A terrible groan escaped him and he tore his eyes away, stumbling back and spinning to the corner of the room where he retched right onto the carpet.

Pressing a hand against the wall to keep himself up didn't work, his knees shaking too badly, so he crumpled to the floor, his body quaking with sobs as remained stooped over, breath hitching inside of him as he tried to keep from heaving again.

What—

What had happened...?

Holy shit... HOLY SHIT!

His mind reeled with panic, clouded with worry, and he cradled his head to try to clear it, but...

The hum of flies and the acrid stench of blood and vomit strangled the air.

Oh fuck, he couldn't breathe—he had to get out of there—!

Weakly, he got to his feet, staggering a few steps before managing to get out the door, partially choking, half sobbing, coughing as he paused, clutching himself in the hallway, his tears dripping onto the wooden floor.

A million questions whirled through his scared mind, none of his logic making any sense, nothing coherent forming as he replayed the image of Paopu's mutilated body over and over, feeling sick down to his very bones.

All that _blood_—Paopu _dead_—

Where was _Sora!_

The room—complete mess, disaster—break-in, maybe? Sora's phone, on the floor, broken...

Phone!

Riku buried a hand into his pocket, grabbing his phone as he stumbled down the hall to the front door, feet hurrying as panic escalated, every bit of him fearing the worst. His fingers fumbled as he pulled the cell open, tears blurring his eyes as he looked down at it, hands trembling too much to punch in the right numbers.

9-2—

"F-Fuck...!"

He staggered into the entryway, pushing delete to try the numbers again—

But strong fingers suddenly pulled the phone from his quivering hands.

He gasped, raising his pale face to meet the tall figure now standing in front of him.

Mr. Creepy.

Behind him, the front door was standing wide open, its chain dangling from the slider, broken.

Oh _no_. This was _not _happening! His fucking _phone_ was in the maybe child molester's hand, who had _broken in_ through the front door, and the guy that was probably _behind_ all this mess—Sora's disappearance, Paopu's body—

Riku's stomach lurched again and he grimaced, taking a step away from the man, knowing how downright terrified he probably looked, but he didn't care. He just kept gaping at his cell phone as Mr. Creepy calmly snapped it shut and narrowed his dark eye at him.

"You should always lock the front door," was what he said, his deep voice giving nothing away. When he saw the direction of Riku's stare, he added, "The cops won't be able to do anything."

Was that a _threat_!

Oh God, Sora had been right all along!

Gut twisting with despair, Riku slowly backed away, eyes wide. "Y-Y-Y-You—!" he started stuttering, pointing a shaking finger at him.

Mr. Creepy was already moving toward him, strides long and purposeful—and Riku tensed, holding his breath, fearing what this large man could do to him—

But the man moved right past Riku, entering the adjacent hallway. Heart hammering in his chest, Riku slowly turned, feeling himself shudder as he watched Sora's neighbor. The man had paused just beyond the entryway, his hardened face raised into the air. He took a long, intent sniff—

_What?_

—and then, as if finding something, he proceeded towards Sora's room.

**_What_** What the _hell_ was going on?

In front of him, the morning sunshine poured through the front door, warming his damp, pale face. His escape was right there, open and waiting for him. All he had to do was walk right outside and make a run for the nearest phone, let the world know what he had just seen, that his boyfriend was gone, probably hurt and scared somewhere, if he wasn't already dead.

But something stopped him from leaving.

As sick as he felt and as hopeless as his situation seemed, something nagged at him.

Mr. Creepy was letting him go. He was letting him choose whether to stay or not. That was _not _what a criminal would do. Wouldn't Riku be considered a witness?

Unsure of himself, Riku slowly turned, glancing toward the hallway where the man had gone. Fear, poisonous and cold, twisted inside of him, but he had to _know_. That alone made him do what he did.

Footsteps soft and insecure, he followed Mr. Creepy and returned to Sora's bedroom, pausing in the doorway and feeling nauseous. The man was bent over Paopu's carcass, studying it with a straight face, his gaze a bit grim. When Riku's feet stopped at the threshold, the man acknowledged his presence by raising his head, but he didn't turn to look at him. Instead, he spoke, his voice firm.

"You stayed."

Riku swallowed thickly, practically tasting the smell of death. "Y-You didn't do this..." he said in a weak voice. It wasn't a question.

"Do I look like I eat dogs, kid?" he replied in a dry voice as he straightened his back and rose to his feet.

"Actually..." Riku paused, trembling and staring. "...y-yeah."

The man didn't even bother replying. He glanced around the destroyed room, taking in the open window, overturned furniture, twisted sheets, and other evidence as if it was nothing new to him, as if he had been expecting it all. A morning breeze was softly brushing a corner of the blood-dotted sheets, and Riku noticed for the first time that not only were they in disarray, but they were also slightly pulled towards the window.

"This kill is too fresh to be smelling this bad," he commented as he finally turned to Riku, dark eye narrowing in question. "Where are the other corpses? How long has it been smelling?"

Kill too _fresh_? Other _corpses_?

"That was our _dog_, you asshole!" Riku snapped, green eyes stinging with tears. Furiously wiping them away, he once again felt a sharp fear stab at him, worry for Sora's fate... He was scared to ask, if the man even knew at all.

He should have run away... He shouldn't have stayed. None of this made any sense and it didn't seem like it would start piecing together any time soon, not here, not like this...

He just wanted Sora. What was he doing here...? This creepy asshole couldn't help him.

"I'll find them myself, then," the man said simply as he moved towards the bed. "Probably the attic..."

The attic.

Riku gritted his teeth and clenched his eyes shut, feeling queasy as a shudder coursed through him.

"This was where he did it..." Mr. Creepy muttered to himself as he inspected the sheets and around the mattress. Riku couldn't help thinking about the monster under the bed that Sora had always been afraid of. "No body. He must have taken him..." A murmur. "Window..."

Riku listened to the man for a long moment, uncertain of what to do, if he should ask, or if he should have already taken off running for the police. Only when he heard a familiar _snap _of plastic did he lift his face again, green eyes wide as he watched the man dial in a number on _his_ cell phone.

"Hey, that's mine, you assh—"

"This is Auron," the man said into the phone, completely ignoring Riku as he went back to inspecting Paopu's messy corpse. "Yeah, last night. He got him. I need a clean-up crew—ah, get me number eight if you can. That's right. Tell him I need the works." He paused, raising only his eye to glance at Riku. "A few witnesses, some dead pets, a missing person..."

A _few_ witnesses? _Some _dead pets?

Nothing was making any _sense_... ARGH. By now, Riku's fear was settling, overcome by frustration and the kind of anger associated with complete confusion and desperation.

"Mm-hm. I'll take responsibility," the man named Auron continued. He paused for a long moment, listening to the other line, and then gave a short nod as he got back to his feet again. "After I look around some more, I'll erase my presence and start tracking again. Right. Understood."

The cell phone snapped shut and Auron's gaze focused on Riku, who was almost seething.

"I need to ask you a few questions," he stated calmly as he moved around Paopu's remains and approached Riku.

Green eyes dangerously narrowing, Riku curled his hands at his sides and decided _he_ would be asking questions too. "_Where_ the _hell _is **_Sora_**!" he demanded, his voice shaking only a little as he glared at the man. "And what the _hell _is going on and who the _fuck_ are you?"

Auron gave him a very degrading, unimpressed stare, and said nothing.

Releasing a frustrated growl, feeling more helpless than he'd ever been in his whole life, Riku grated his teeth and lowered his head, feeling utterly stupid and _alone_ and—

_Sora, what happened? Where are you? What the hell is going on!_

He honestly couldn't remember the last time he had cried, and here he was today, trying to hold back the tears once again welling at his eyes as his whole life crumbled in front of him. If Sora was really gone, he didn't know what he'd do...

"Look," he managed to get out, pressing a hand over his eyes so Auron couldn't see his pained expression. "You obviously know what happened to Sora. If you could just _tell_ me..."

"And then what?" Auron asked, tone dark and rigid. "There's nothing you can do, kid."

Riku clenched his jaw, stopping himself from snapping at the man again. After a moment, he lowered his hand and continued softly. "Sora's my _life_... I've always been there for him. I _love_ him. I'm the only one he really trusts..." He hesitated, glancing at Paopu's body and feeling sick again. He needed to get out of this room. "...if you know what happened, tell me."

The strange man was silent for a while. A hand rose to scratch his stubble before he started to move past Riku, whose heart sank with despair at the silent dismissal.

But Auron actually paused right next to him and reached out to give him something. _Two_ somethings. His cell phone and Sora's butterfly knife.

The knife was no longer a weapon, a short nub there where the blade had once been, like it had just been _snapped_ off.

_Unreal_, was all Riku could think as he stared down at it. _How...?_

He wasn't sure why, but _some_how, it was starting to piece together, but he wasn't sure what it all meant, or if he wanted to believe it. This wasn't just a random kidnapping. There was a lot more behind this.

The room looked as though a pair of tigers had been let loose in it, things thrown off bookshelves, furniture torn apart, CDs scattered everywhere, bloody footprints... And Paopu's body, shredded, a lot of it _missing_ as if it had been _eaten_, like a velociraptor from _Jurassic Park _had gotten to it or something! Then the knife... Sora's knife, the blade cleanly broken off like that. It was weird. _Too_ weird to be real.

"You were the last one with him," Auron said, interrupting his thoughts. His voice was completely serious, as if he handled this kind of catastrophe everyday. "What do you remember?"

_What do I remember...? _What the hell _was_ there to remember! He hadn't been here last night. The last thing he _remembered_ was Sora's voice telling him he'd see him tomorrow, _this_ morning, and what Riku had gotten was _this_ fucking nightmare!

Trying to ignore the desolate feeling threatening to overwhelm him, Riku realized he wasn't going to get anywhere if he continued panicking like this. Maybe if he calmed down a little, took things a little at a time, played along with Mr. Creepy Auron's charade—

Maybe he'd find out what had happened.

"If I tell you what I know... will you answer my questions...?" Riku asked quietly.

Auron studied him for a moment before responding. "Best save the trouble of memory wiping you," he said as he turned toward the hallway. "Though we might have to anyway..."

Memory wipe? What the fuck was he going on about?

Gritting his teeth, Riku followed after him—_I can't believe I'm doing this!_—and tucked his cell phone and Sora's once-knife into his pocket.

Auron came to a stop beneath the open attic door, where he lifted his arms to pull down the ladder. He was tall enough, which intimidated Riku slightly more, but he knew that if Auron was going to hurt him, he would have done it already. Riku had given him plenty of opportunities. Unless Auron was waiting for that information... Not that Riku had it anyway.

Once he unfolded the ladder and made sure it was firmly secure, Auron then looked at Riku again, adding onto his earlier statements.

"If I told you, you wouldn't believe it."

Oh man, how cliché. Then again... It held a lot of truth.

Lips pulling into an impatient frown, Riku actually thought back to all the times he hadn't believed _Sora _and that all of this had probably happened because he had led Sora into a false sense of security.

Sora had been so scared that night, and Riku had been too scared for Sora's sanity to want to believe him in return... Whether these incidences were related or not—Sora's disappearance and Sora's hallucinations the day before—Riku should have _known_, Riku should have stayed with him, helped him, done _something_. He might not have believed Sora, but... Maybe he could have done something.

Now here he was with Sora's creepy-maybe-child-molester neighbor, trying to figure out what had happened. It was unreal. Like it was just some freak nightmare... and when Sora called him, he'd wake up from all of this and hear Sora's cheery voice again, teasing him for being such a lazy ass bum and sleeping all day through classes... or something...

He could have avoided this if he had believed Sora, so he didn't want to make the same mistake again, no matter _what_ he heard... UFOs or mafia business, or monsters or something.

"No," he said at last, just as Auron was beginning to climb the ladder.

The man paused to look at him, face giving away nothing. Riku lifted his eyes, feeling the heavy weight inside of him sink even more, apprehension making him shiver a little.

"No," he repeated, more resolute this time. "I didn't believe Sora. If you tell me, I'll listen."

Something accepting flickered in the man's dark eye, and he slowly nodded, starting up the ladder again. "Follow me."

So Riku did, licking his lips nervously as he began to climb. As his head lifted into the attic, he nearly gagged, the smell of death catching in his throat. He pulled himself into the attic and crouched right there, afraid to move any farther, for fear of what he would bump into. Auron had moved to the center of the attic and located the light, which gave off a weak illumination when it was tugged on.

As he swept his gaze across the dimly-lit space, Riku remembered discussing the smell with Sora just yesterday, and how they had figured it had just been a dead squirrel or something.

No, not _a_ squirrel.

The attic was now a small graveyard of nearly a _dozen_ small corpses.

"As I thought," Auron sighed, calmly stepping around the bodies to study the corners of the attic more thoroughly.

Riku remained rooted in his spot, eyes wide as he studied all of the mutilated bodies of cats, dogs, and yes, a few squirrels. It was like some wild animal had ripped them apart, feasting mostly on their stomachs and not caring what a mess it had made of things. He gagged again, a hand over his mouth, and made a face, but didn't retch again. By now, the shock had already worn away, leaving him in a kind of numbed state of fear, his curiosity greater than his immediate sense of danger.

He even noticed the remains of what looked like a few of Ms. Winkle's pets—including her annoying rat terrier. Riku suddenly felt guilty for never liking that damn dog of hers. Maybe that was why Riku hadn't seen the old woman outside earlier—she no longer had her precious pup to walk...

And whatever had feasted on it had made sure to clean out its innards well, along with the other unfortunate animals whose remains littered the attic. Hind legs, tails, chewed-off heads...

_Ugh_...

All the bodies... even the poor old lady's favorite _pet_... _Terrible_...

"All of these kills were recent. Some from last night, others from the night before at most," Auron explained. He sunk to his knees to inspect something. "Hmm... Turn off the light."

Something had been living in Sora's attic for at least two nights? Oh God...

The sick feeling returning, Riku got to his feet and carefully stepped over a cat carcass to pull the string from the dangling light bulb. The attic fell to shadow again, and for the fear of stepping on something he didn't even want to touch, Riku stayed in that one spot, waiting for further instruction.

"Take a look," Auron stated from his position in the corner.

At first, Riku wasn't sure what he was looking for, but it was right there in front of him, _all_ around him.

Scattered around the floor were little holes in the boards through the ceiling below them. Nice, strategically-placed holes, and Riku could see light from the actual house shining through them into the attic. Almost like... Peepholes.

Whatever had been living up here had been spying on Sora—_and _Riku, now that he thought about it—and it hadn't been just a spontaneous thing. It had been _planned_. And animals, even animals that mutilated pets, did _not_ premeditate stuff like this. That was a human characteristic.

Something—_someone_ had been watching Sora all this time. When they'd played games, ate lunch together, had sex in the shower and on the bed, or just watched TV together... someone had been watching them.

These peepholes were so small and perfectly crafted that they probably wouldn't have been discovered for a very, very long time.

A sense of total and complete, _utter_ violation washed over Riku and he groaned, burying his face in his hands and shuddering.

"Holy fuck..." he whispered.

"This was their hideout."

Auron still sounded totally calm.

Riku listened as the man got to his feet and started back towards him, his heavy shoes scraping against the dusty wood until he stopped right in front of Riku and turned the light on. Riku didn't lift his head.

"_Their_ hideout...?" he asked quietly, voice weak.

Auron's large hand rested on Riku's shoulder a brief moment before slipping away. The man then crouched and started heading down the ladder. His touch had suggested that he didn't want to tell Riku anything, but understood and sympathized with the boy's situation.

If he asked again, maybe answers were going to be given. Though, the words of warning were left unsaid this time.

_Memory wipe._

It could have been a joke, but considering all of the freaky shit he'd seen in the past half hour, Riku was beginning to suspect the same kind of things people called Sora crazy for believing.

Sora had _known_ something was wrong in his home, someone was watching him, things were out there and wanted him. Sora's suspicion had just been in the wrong place—Sora had thought Mr. Creepy had been the problem. No, the problem had been in the attic the whole time. Mr. Creepy—Auron—was a good guy?

The dread that had been gnawing at him since he had arrived was now more of a burning curiosity—with still fear, yes, _terrible _fear, but... Riku had to know now. So, seeking the answers, he followed Auron again.

Unfortunately, they had a bit of an interruption.

As soon as Riku stepped off the ladder, the front door practically slammed closed, startling him. He hurried after Auron to the door, watching as someone just bustled right into the entryway as if he owned the place, whistling a cheerful tune and dragging a huge trunk behind him.

Under a black Jack Skellington beanie, the guy had layered scarlet hair, some of it pulled into a tight ponytail, low and out of the way. Strange diamond-shaped tattoos graced his cheekbones just under each green eye, and though his face was young and cocky, the smirk that stretched his lips hinted at silent authority—or power—and cruel amusement, as if he knew everything that was going on and wasn't going to share it. He looked a bit older than Riku, but he dressed far younger, almost Sora-like with his black hoodie, baggy green cargos, and untied shoelaces.

"Yo," was his greeting when he spotted Auron standing there. He gave a mock-salute with one hand as he easily pulled his large trunk forward with his other. The thing gave a resounding _heavy_ bang as he dropped it onto the tiled floor of the entryway. Totally _unnatural_ strength.

"Axel," Auron greeted sternly, giving a small nod. "That was fast."

The man named Axel gave a grin so pleased it was kind of frightening. "Yeah, well, with last night being a full moon and all, we're kind of busy with all these requests," he laughed, completely casual as he squatted beside the trunk and easily flipped its latches. "How'd it go with you?" The question was like they were talking about something over coffee and donuts. "Guess you lost your target."

Full moon? Target?

Riku glanced from Axel to Auron—weird names—and watched the two men speak to each other. It seemed like they knew one another very well, and both were so casual about the situation that it was really unnerving.

"Mn. Working on it," Auron replied. There was a bit of obvious disappointment in his tone and that he didn't want to discuss it.

"Too bad," Axel commented as he swung open the trunk's lid. Inside, Riku saw the strangest things—from mops and other cleaning supplies, to odd-looking devices he'd never seen in his life and could only guess the purpose of. "So you need everything, huh?" Axel said as he dug through the trunk, pulling out a few things. He paused, raising his head and giving Auron a knowing look. "From the gritty stuff right down to the—hey, who's the kid?"

Riku blinked at the sudden acknowledgement, and then felt a flash of indignation at his presence seeming totally unimportant to this newcomer. This was his _boyfriend's_ house, and these people were strangers for fuck's sake! Sora was missing and possibly _hurt_, Paopu was _dead_, Riku was confused as **hell**, and this guy Axel was acting like all of this was a fucking ride in the park for him!

"Witness," was Auron's curt reply.

Riku shot both of them nasty looks, wanting to scream at them from the top of his lungs until he got some answers, but he knew, _somehow_ he knew, everything would be explained if he just remained silent for a little while longer, and that these people would help him find Sora if he didn't get in their way with whatever the hell they were doing.

Did they even _care_ about the fact Sora was missing? Or were they only here to track whatever it was that had taken him? What the _hell _was going on!

"Should he be here?" Axel wondered, his sharp gaze giving Riku a very studious twice-over.

_Fucking **bastard**._

Auron nodded. "I still need to question him."

"Ah. Usually you get that done first," the other man commented as he went back to digging through his trunk. "I guess you won't be needing a purging yet, then?"

Purging? What the hell did _that _mean!

"No," Auron said. "Later."

Axel paused to study the two of them a long moment before he shrugged, waving them off. "Just call me over if you need me, then. Time to get to work..." And he proceeded to pull a few more things out of his trunk, lifting them as he got to his feet. He breezed past the men in the hallway and almost cheerfully headed for the attic. "Let's see what we've got today..."

This guy was completely unfazed by the situation, as if he really did handle this kind of thing several times a day. Even _Auron_ did.

"Who's he?" Riku quietly hissed as he watched after Axel.

"The Cleaner."

"The what...?"

"We should stay out of his way for now," Auron said, his voice stern and leaving no room for argument as he suddenly grabbed Riku's elbow, his grip strong and unyielding.

"Hey—wait! What about Sora!"

"Come with me."

Too confused to protest, Riku let himself get pulled out the front door.

-o-o-

Auron's home had the bare necessities.

It was mostly unfurnished except for a simple table with one chair for the dining room, with a stack of newspapers and a portable TV on said table. From his seat there, he could see a small fridge in the kitchen and some scattered dishes on the counters, and down the hall was the bedroom where he saw the edge of a bed and three large suitcases.

The room next to it was closed off, and its door looked a bit splintered, as if some heavy force had repeatedly slammed into it. All the windows had been boarded up from the outside, almost like Auron had wanted to keep something _in_, not out. Riku hadn't seen the other rooms, but the unlived-in state definitely told him that Auron hadn't expected to live in this place long, like it was a hotel and not a house.

As he sat studying the interior of the home, Riku was given a cold, brown bottle—root beer—and he had to wonder if it was an attempt at a joke. Riku was old enough to drink, but he didn't really like doing it often, and especially now it seemed really unappealing. A lot of people drowned themselves in alcohol to forget their worries, but Riku didn't want to relax or do any forgetting. Maybe Auron knew that. Maybe Auron was trying to be cruel by _not_ giving him alcohol. Or maybe Auron was just cheap...

Tracing his fingers over the cool glass of the bottle, he wondered if he could even stomach something right now... He could still taste the effects of seeing Paopu's remains, when he had hurled onto the floor. Man, he felt like shit...

"What are you thinking?" Auron asked as he settled in the other creaky chair at the table. In front of him, _he _had alcohol—something called Goldschlager that was clear with flecks of what seemed to be real gold floating in it. It reeked of cinnamon and was probably really strong.

"I don't know," Riku replied honestly. Then, a mutter, "Just want to know where Sora is..."

"We'll take turns then," he said as he poured himself a shot, the clear liquid sloshing over the edge. Little gold leafs floated in it. He set the glass bottle down again, creating a heavy thunk that made Riku flinch a little. Auron noticed it. "Look, I'm not going to hurt you," he muttered as he lifted his shot. "Go ahead and ask a question."

Frowning, Riku curled his fingers around his root beer bottle and didn't meet Auron's face. His hands were trembling. He hadn't even noticed until he'd looked at them, his skin looking so pale against the dark glass of the bottle. He felt calm, but... Obviously he wasn't okay.

With Sora gone...

Tightening his grip on the bottle, Riku felt his stomach knot. His voice was weak when he spoke at last. "Is Sora dead?" He had to know.

Auron drained his shot glass in one go and then set it down again to pour himself another. "My guess," he said, his voice thick from the alcohol, "would be... Not yet." He paused, taking a deep breath and relaxing back in his chair, a large hand rubbing at his left arm as if to soothe the muscles. "You were the last one with the kid. What do you remember?"

Throat dry, Riku realized that the drink in front of him was looking really good right now. "Sora's... always been scared of little things," he started. "A lot more than regular people. A lot of times it gets so bad that he'll go nights without sleeping. This past week has been like that..." he explained slowly, and then quietly admitted, "Even I was starting to think he was crazy." Riku dragged the brown bottle closer to him, fingering the ridges of the words on it. "Two nights ago, he ran out of his home screaming and crying. I took him back to my place where he told me he'd seen someone in his bathroom. Another him."

Auron's dark eye narrowed at this and he nodded. "Go on."

Riku licked his lips nervously. "I-I told him he'd just been seeing things," he said. "I mean... I had believed him right up to the part he said that the other person had been _him_." He paused, closing his eyes and shaking his head, speaking quickly. "Like maybe he was seeing double, or... _hallucinating_, like he's been doing lately. Sora doesn't sleep well, and... yeah..."

"And last night?" Auron asked, never mind that it wasn't his turn to ask a question.

Riku didn't notice. "Last night... he was alone, just with Paopu. The dog," he explained. "I had class. Yesterday we made plans to check out the smell in the attic this morning."

Auron gave a soft grunt, as if he understood everything now, and then he drank his second glass of Goldschlager.

Glancing up at him, Riku licked his lips again, realizing it was his turn to ask. "You know what happened to Sora," he said, certain, eyes narrowing at the older man. "What happened last night and who are you?"

Clearing his throat, Auron ran a hand across his stubble and leaned forward, setting his shot glass down and corking his bottle of alcohol. "Fine," he said at last. "First off, you should have listened to the kid."

"Stop patronizing me! I did what any normal person would have done!" Riku snapped, feeling frustration boiling inside of him. Frustration and icy, dreadful _fear_—the real kind, not like the short adrenaline rush at a horror flick. Real fear. The kind when someone realizes that, in this one moment, his life will never be the same.

"Maybe," Auron said, waving a hand. "But because no one believed the kid—Sora, right?—he learned first-hand what I'm about to tell you."

"_What_?" Riku asked. This was the last thing he needed, the last thing he should be hearing. _Oh God, please don't let this be real. _There should be perfectly good reasons for all of this.

"That, second off, he hadn't been seeing things," Auron said calmly. "What he said he saw, had really been there."

_No fucking way—I really **am** hearing this!_

Riku gave the man a skeptical look and frowned, his logic ready to stop trusting this guy's sanity—and then he recalled that Auron _had_ said that Riku wouldn't believe him, and Riku was supposed to be making an effort. But... how was he supposed to believe something as crazy sounding as that?

"So you're saying there's two Soras, then," Riku said, sounding unconvinced.

Auron pushed the bottle of Goldschlager aside and shook his head. "More than two," he stated. "More than what's been recorded."

Riku's lips drew into a thin line as he waited for an explanation.

Auron actually smirked a little at his expression, dark eye glinting with strange amusement. "I'll start simple then, from the beginning," he said as he reclined back in his chair again. Its back creaked under the pressure and he sighed. "Alternate universes—_multiple­_ universes. You know what those are, right?"

Looking even more disbelieving, Riku narrowed his eyes. "Sort of."

"Well, there's thousands of them," Auron said. "We still don't have all of them recorded or under surveillance."

"We?"

"The Organization."

Auron's smirk spread a little. "Stop asking questions and pay attention, kid."

"My name is Riku," he muttered in response.

"I know," Auron said, giving the boy a calculating stare. "And before you ask, let me explain. The Sora _your_ Sora saw was from one of these alternate worlds. In these alternate worlds, you exist—people with your name, your looks, and sometimes very similar lives." He paused, taking in Riku's skeptical expression. "It's hard to believe, but it's very real, kid."

Real. Right. Whatever.

But Auron wasn't done yet. "I've been tracking that other Sora for years now," he said calmly, as if he actually believed all of this, "and I followed him to this world, to this neighborhood. Imagine my surprise when I saw that he was hunting _another_ Sora, _your_ Sora."

Riku shook his head, closing his eyes, swallowing thickly.

He couldn't believe this was happening to him—that he was here, listening to this stranger spout off this nonsense.

The Riku of yesterday would have called the man a drunk—the Goldschlager was evidence enough—and already would have left. But today... Well, after what Riku had seen, he wasn't so sure his straight logic and safe little life was so real anymore.

It could have been an elaborate joke—a _cruel _joke, but he didn't think anyone would go through such effort just to prank him. Not with the dead animals, not with someone as paranoid as Sora behind it all.

Something was going on, and a large part of Riku's instincts was telling him Auron knew what the fuck was going on, as crazy as it all sounded. Riku didn't _want_ to believe, but the situation wasn't giving him any choice or anything else to build theories off of.

So... Playing along, Riku contemplated Auron's words.

"So this other Sora... is some sort of criminal then?" Riku asked, wondering about all the terminology Auron was using. Hunting, tracking and all that.

"It's slightly more complicated than that," Auron admitted gruffly. "In his world, Sorah is a vampire—"

"A _vampire_?"

Oh please.

Then again... the blood...

"—and a powerful and old one at that," Auron continued without letting Riku really interrupt. "Vampires, especially elder ones, have the power to manipulate darkness somewhat."

Darkness. Okaaaay...

"Older ones like Sorah can slip between the shadows of the worlds—sort of like keyholes or doors—into alternate realities."

Darkness, shadows of worlds... _What?_

But because Auron was explaining this without waiting for reactions, it told Riku he explained this kind of stuff a lot... which meant he _could _really work for some organization or something... which meant this might actually _be real_. Or Auron could just be a fucking psycho who said this kind of crap a lot (though if that was true, it was great wonder why he hadn't been locked in the loony bin by now).

Feeling that sick weight inside of him again, twisting at his stomach, Riku quietly asked, "So in another world... Sora is a _vampire_... and that vampire came to this world... And _he_ was the one who killed Paopu and lived in the attic and took Sora?"

Auron held up a hand and shook his head. "That was the Riku of that world."

Whoa, hold on a second.

Riku?

He blinked, the reality of the information sinking in. If there _were_ alternate worlds, like Auron said, then... he wasn't the only Riku that existed. What a creepy concept.

Oh God, he wasn't actually seriously thinking about this, was he? _It's for Sora, only for Sora. _

"So... that Riku's a vampire too, then...?" he asked, not really believing his own words. He was talking about this like it was normal, real, not something out of a fairytale or off a movie or something, like it should have been. This was crazy. _He_ was starting to sound crazy.

"No," Auron said, and Riku was a little surprised when he noticed how grim the man's face had gotten. "Not a vampire. More of a pet," he said. "That's a story in itself."

Brow furrowing, curious, Riku leaned forward a little, clutching his untouched root beer. "What do you mean by _pet_?"

"A zombie, kid," Auron said in a dark voice. "Sorah's personal bodyguard, sidekick, pet, whatever you want to call him. The fact is that he's nothing like the living dead you're probably imagining, so stop thinking about that."

Riku's lip curled a little at the word _zombie_, as he had indeed been thinking about the groaning, staggering undead from movies. So, zombies and vampires. What was next? Frankenstein's monster? Werewolves? Oh man...

"So then... what are zombies actually like?" he asked, quite confused as he tried to soak in all of this weird information.

"He's under Sorah's complete control, like a robot," Auron explained. "Bound by blood. He can still pass off as mostly human, with some disfiguration... But for being dead, Rikuh has the strength and agility of twenty mortals."

Whoa... scary...

"Imagine a creature like that scaling walls and hunting its prey. That kind of monster runs completely on his hunger."

A cold shudder ran through Riku as he listened, picturing Auron's descriptions in his mind. If this was all real, was that what had happened to Sora? It was just all so _out there_, completely unbelievable to someone like Riku, who spent most of this time studying facts and trying to be logical. Vampires, zombies—those weren't reality. Yet here this Mr. Creepy was, trying to convince Riku it _was_ reality.

If Sora hadn't been missing, and if Riku hadn't seen all that evidence with his own eyes, he wouldn't still be here.

Something was telling him Auron was right.

_Holy shit..._

"As you're probably figuring out," Auron said, "Sorah was the one your Sora had seen that night." Pausing, he traced the rim of his empty shot glass, his dark eye distant as he spoke. "He and his pet zombie had probably been stalking the kid for weeks, and had only more recently made a nest out of the attic, maybe a week or so. Animals don't do much for their kind—it's the human hemoglobin that sustains their bodies. That's why there were so many corpses."

Okay. _Human hemoglobin_.

That right there made a shiver run up Riku's spine. Not because of its implications, that these vampires and zombies liked humans a lot more than animals... No, it truly frightened him because Auron was even bringing _science_ into his fairytale. What kind of fucking psycho brought biology terminology into his elaborate storytelling?

Auron really knew what he was talking about. Riku could tell he was even holding _back_ information, like he didn't want to confuse Riku. Crazy people didn't do that, did they? Either Auron was a really good actor and had this whole thing planned out, or...

Or this was real.

Releasing a sigh, Auron's voice turned grim. "The dead animals you saw were relatively fresh, from two nights at most, which means Sorah had been keeping his pet zombie very close at that time, ready to strike at a moment's notice."

Following the story, Riku nodded, a part of him really understanding all of this. A vampire and his pet zombie had been living in Sora's attic for a while, spying, waiting to attack...

Paopu had probably just been in the way, Riku realized. Wondering how long the fight had lasted, if there had been one at all, he swallowed again, staring at his perspiring root beer bottle. "Why come here?" he asked softly. "Why my Sora?"

"Probably was coincidence," Auron admitted. "He probably sniffed your Sora out and decided to have some fun. As a dark creature, Sorah is particularly notorious for raping, torturing, killing... you get the idea."

Everything made sense. Everything made _far_ more sense than Riku trying to be logical about the situation. As sick as all of this was, as much as he didn't want to imagine it being real, he was beginning to accept it.

"And you?" Riku asked, raising his eyes to Auron's dark gaze. "Why are you here? Are you some sort of vampire slayer?" The last part was kind of a joke, but a large part of Riku was being serious. He really wanted to know.

Auron gave a dry laugh at that, shaking his head. "It's not my job to kill vampires," was the simple answer.

Oh, okay, so things weren't too weird now. Riku relaxed a little.

But then Auron added, "It's my job to kill the ones that break the laws."

Fuck.

Riku's throat went dry and he started chugging his root beer, needing something _normal _in all of this insanity.

Hesitating a moment, Auron watched Riku and sighed a little before he continued his story. "No, I'm not a slayer," he repeated in a grim tone. "Those would have gone right after the bastard and gotten their stomachs ripped open by the zombie. My job is more subtle," he said with a curl of his lips. "Since dark creatures and shadow manipulators—the ones who can illegally cross the boundaries between worlds—are natural trouble makers, someone has to be there to keep them in check."

"And that's what you do?" Riku asked, eyeing him strangely as he put his bottle down. "Kind of like... a cop?"

"More complicated than that," he replied, rubbing at his left arm again. "To have a job like mine, you have to know far more than just normal slayers."

_Oh great, here we go,_ Riku silently groaned. He was surprised that the growing headache he had hadn't already flared into a full-blown migraine yet. _Insane, insane, this is all **insane**_

And maybe **real**.

"Not just vampire hunting, zombie hunting—" Auron was stating. "You have to know the different _races_ of vampires and zombies, which to expect in which world, what their weaknesses are and how to fight them, how to make different healing potions, who the local necromancers and healers are, and whose territories you're treading on when you set up stakeouts." He paused, reaching for his Goldschlager again. "There's more than that, but you get the idea."

Riku blinked, eyes widening, unable to comprehend just how powerful and _intelligent_ this guy sitting in front of him was, if he actually was what he said he was. If all of this was really true. "So you living here is just so you could keep track of this vampire Sora and his pet, right?"

"We knew he was messing around in this world," Auron said. "They were tracked to this area. The Organization feared an encounter with the Sora and Riku of this world, so I was sent on a minor infiltration mission to keep an eye on you two and intercept if the criminals attacked."

And those criminals _had_ attacked. Sora had _seen_ another Sora, and Auron's story fit right in with Sora's. Oh, wait... but hadn't it been in the _mirror_?

"But... Sora said he had seen this other Sora in the mirror," Riku pointed out. "I thought vampires didn't cast reflections."

Unfortunately, Auron had an answer for that too.

"Maybe in your world," was what he said. He uncorked his alcohol and poured himself another shot before pushing the bottle away again. "The legends you probably know are different from reality, kid."

So that was the grim truth, huh? That left one important factor standing clearly in front of them, unsaid. The most important factor.

It had been Auron's job to keep an eye on Sora and make sure the bastards from the other world didn't attack. Well, if everything Auron said was true, he _hadn't_ been doing his job. Sora _had_ been attacked.

Riku was beginning to understand everything. The helplessness and fear that he had felt not too long ago was still there, growing with all of the information Auron was giving him, but anger was overtaking his confusion now as he glared at the other man.

"But you _didn't_ intercept," Riku pointed out with a soft hiss. "You _didn't_ save Sora last night!"

As usual, Auron looked completely unaffected by Riku's anger. "I know," he said, brusque.

"And how the fuck can you be so calm about it?" he demanded, fitting the man with an accusing glare. His hands curled into fists and he brought them down into his lap, shaking his head and looking away, hiding the aggravated expression on his face. "If you were supposed to be keeping an eye on Sora, why weren't you there last night?"

"Last night was a full moon," Auron said as he kneaded a hand into his left arm. Riku watched, wondering, as the man flexed his free fingers as if he were having problems with his arm muscles again. Those dark eyebrows drew together as he continued the one-handed massage, his face guarded, but Riku could tell the man was in pain. "Sorah planned his attack well. He knew I was the one on his tail, and that last night I would be too... preoccupied to watch him."

"So... what does that mean?" Riku asked. "So what if it was the full moon?"

He wasn't exactly expecting the answer that he got, but somehow he'd known this was coming.

"No matter what world it is," Auron said, "werewolves always fall slave to the moon."

"Ah."

Werewolves. Figures.

"The Organization provides a serum to sedate the wolf's power," Auron explained evenly as he rubbed his arm, "but it dulls the senses. I wouldn't have been able to protect anyone last night."

Oh...

Riku's gaze shied away from Auron and glanced down the hallway again, again taking note of the splintered door next to the bedroom. The wood was bowed out, like something had slammed into it from the inside. And all the windows boarded from the _outside_... Auron had locked himself up last night. No, he wouldn't have been able to protect Sora like that...

Things were making too much sense now. Even Auron's misanthrope behavior, his bad arm...

Riku raised his eyes to the man's face, studying, wondering. "Is that how you got that scar?"

"It's not necessary for you to know that," was the man's quick reply. For once, his dark eye wasn't on Riku, focused instead on the clear bottle of alcohol.

Riku was a bit miffed about not getting an answer, but if Auron really was a werewolf, Riku understood that the subject was probably really touchy for the guy... If Riku had been in his shoes, he wouldn't want to tell some bratty kid about it either.

Shit. He was beginning to believe it.

Last night, the situation now, all this information—_everything _came crashing down on him. He shook his head, burying his face in his arms on the table, wanting nothing more in the world than to have Sora there with him again, safe and smiling and being cute.

"This is all so fucking insane... I can't believe this is happening. Rrrgh..."

"Call it what you want, kid," Auron said with a complete lack of sympathy. "It's real. Accept it if you want."

Riku gave a dry laugh, not raising his head. "Like I have a choice..."

He heard Auron's loud swallow as he downed his third shot of Goldschlager. The glass clunked onto the table and the man cleared his throat, but didn't reply.

Tugging at his hair, Riku kept his face lowered, eyes squeezed shut as he tried to comprehend everything. In actuality, the problem was that he _did_ understand it—but he wasn't sure if he was ready to fully trust the story. It was just too much to take in all at once, but too much to be some guy's fairytale... All this supernatural shit... Werewolves, zombies, vampires, slayers, alternate realities, underground organizations...

Fuck, he had a headache.

"Fine," the boy mumbled at last, peeking over the edge of his arms. He slowly reached out to take his root beer again. "So where's this Organization? Who runs it and all that? Government or...?"

"You're safer without that knowledge."

Riku felt that frustration rising again. Lips pulling into a stubborn frown, he lifted his head and glared. "Why not? Why not tell me?"

_You've told me all this other stuff_, his mind wanted to point out. What _was_ the point of telling him if he wasn't going to go all the way?

Speaking of which... That reminded him.

Eyes hardening with resolve, Riku bitterly muttered, "I won't be remembering it long _anyway_, right?"

"The Organization will want to purge you, yeah," Auron confirmed. Pitiless. Like he didn't care at all.

"Is that the memory wipe you mentioned earlier?" Riku's tone was sullen, angry. "Like _hell_. Why the fuck are you telling me all this if I'm not going to remember it later?"

Silence reigned for a long moment as Auron rubbed a hand into his left arm again, his dark eye watching Riku with unwavering intent. They both knew Riku had a good point.

Then, as if coming to a conclusion about something, Auron started to get up from the table.

"You don't believe it anyway," he told Riku in a somber voice. His fingers curled around the neck of the Goldschlager and he took a step away from his chair, giving the boy a jaded look. "The vampire who took your friend is merciless, kid. He's one of the underworld's most notorious criminals. The Organization has been after him for years and he's never been caught. He's called unkillable." He paused there, dragging a hand through his salt and pepper hair, and he suddenly looked so weary. "You're not the first one to lose someone to his whims. He'll have his fun with your Sora and get rid of him. The chances of someone recovering the kid before then is close to none."

Riku's heart felt like it was in a vice, being squeezed until he couldn't stand it anymore. He clenched his eyes shut and twisted a hand into his shirt, the sadness inside of him so overwhelming that he couldn't reply to Auron. Even if he had the voice, he didn't have the words. What _could_ he say? The guy had practically spelled it out for him.

Sora might as well have been dead already.

"There's a few reasons I told you all of this," Auron said. His voice was getting distant, like he had turned towards the kitchen. Riku didn't look to find out. "It was something to do while I waited for the Cleaner to finish his job."

Riku cracked his eyes open, his vision swimming with tears.

"I also told you because of who you are," the man continued. His heavy boots shuffled against the wooden floor as he paused in the doorway. "My own reasons," he added quietly before speaking up again. "Finish your drink. We're leaving."

The sound of footsteps moving into the kitchen announced Auron's temporary departure. Riku sagged in his seat and rested his head on the table, feeling the cool surface against his cheek. He stared distantly at the root beer bottle perspiring in front of him, as if _it_ were from another world and not something ordinary... or real.

Maybe it _would_ be better to forget. That was what a part of him was whispering. His logical part. After all, if he forgot, he wouldn't have to worry anymore... He wouldn't be scared of vampires coming for him in the night, or another him wandering around out there eating people's pets.

But then...

What about Sora? He wouldn't remember what had happened last night, or even that Sora was missing and in trouble...

Or would he actually _forget_ Sora completely? Or would this mysterious Organization somehow come up with a believable death for him and cover up the truth? Would he live the rest of his life believing a lie...?

He hated the thought of that, not having Sora anymore. He hadn't had time to think about it yet, but there it was.

Sora was practically dead now. He was going to have to start accepting it.

Oh God...

Riku bit his lip and lifted his head, staring down at the surface of the table where some of his tears had pooled. There were an entire reality out there that no one else knew about, and when he got his memory wiped, he wouldn't know what had really happened to Sora... That Sora had been right all along. That Sora _hadn't_ been crazy. That... everyone else had been wrong. He _hadn't_ been a boy who cried wolf.

_"They're just your imagination playing tricks on you. Always have been." "I'm NOT crazy, Riku!"_

Sora had known.

Riku couldn't just _forget_... There was no returning to his old life now. If he went home, he'd find packed boxes waiting to be taken to Sora's place, because he was supposed to be moving in with Sora. He'd get a call from Sora's mom, totally clueless, her cheery voice asking him to come over and try her new cookies or something. Or Tidus, calling to ask if Sora was okay, why he hadn't shown up for work...

In a few hours, everyone would know of Sora's disappearance... but it would be covered up, and he'd become just a memory.

There was nothing Riku could do about it.

"Ready to go?"

Auron's voice was empty, comfortless, just like the rest of him.

The last person Riku could rely on was himself now. Giving a sharp sniff, he rose from his chair and violently wiped his eyes with his sleeve, not turning to face the older man until his heart had somewhat settled.

The trip across the street and into Sora's home was almost surreal. Everything felt so different now, knowing what he knew, knowing that he was going to forget and live the rest of his life without his best friend, boyfriend, love... It was like walking death row, his stomach sinking with dread each step he took, obediently trailing behind Auron, except it wouldn't be his life he was losing. It'd be Sora's.

Somehow, that hurt even worse.

When they passed through the front door, Riku noticed that the house smelled significantly better—still bad, yes, but not overpowering. Axel's trunk was still in the entryway, and a lot of items were scattered across the tiled floor. Axel himself was whistling a rather mellow tune as he came out of the hallway and, without greeting them, picked up a few things from his trunk, and then left the men to return to work.

The Cleaner. Axel.

"He's awfully casual and... happy..." Riku noted in a somewhat acidic voice. There were vampires and zombies and werewolves, dead animals ripped to shreds, a missing _person_, and the guy seemed completely undeterred. He was even _whistling_.

"It's his job," Auron replied.

"What exactly does a cleaner do?" Riku asked softly as he glanced at the random gadgets Axel had discarded around the area.

"It's their job to go around and cover up any supernatural mishaps in the worlds," Auron answered. "Putting things back together, erasing traces of accidents, fabricating stories to hide the truth, and memory wiping the witnesses."

So that was the guy who was going to make Riku forget about Sora.

Swallowing thickly, the boy moved into the hallway, anxiety rising. Two foul-smelling bags sat to the side; they were of a thick, black, and opaque material, marked with a red symbol that looked like it could mean _caution_ or _hazardous_ or something, even though Riku had never seen it before. No doubt the animal carcasses were in those two bags... Paopu among them.

Without thinking about it, Riku reached out and touched Auron's shoulder, stopping him from leaving the hallway after Axel. "What's going to happen to our dog's body...?" he asked.

"It's going to be decontaminated," was Auron's response, his eye lowering to regard Riku and then the two bags. "By incineration. It's crawling with zombie virus."

Axel was suddenly there beside him, a crooked smirk on his face as he narrowed his eyes at Riku. "I can clean up the collar for you if you want a memento."

Asshole.

Ignoring him, Riku studied the black bags, remembering all the times he and Sora had played with Paopu, how loyal the dog had been to them... How he should have seen the signs of something wrong, when Paopu had been acting weird the last two days.

_"Hey Paopu. You've been a good boy and've been protecting Sora when I'm away, right?"_

Had he protected Sora well? How long had he lasted?

_"You're so cute I could eat you up." "Maybe if my dog was actually made out of fruit, you sicko."_

Riku suddenly felt sick again.

"Most of the things Sora sensed and feared and was called crazy for... were probably real then, right?" he said, his voice hoarse as he tried to keep himself calm.

"That's how it is with a lot of Sensitives," Axel commented as he moved past Riku towards the bags. He easily hefted both black sacks into his arms, completely casual despite the smell, and continued talking. "They see, hear, feel, _sense_ stuff normal mortals can't, but they have to repress their power to fit in, or they get called nuts."

"It's a social wrong to believe in such things," Auron agreed. "And it seems like Sora failed to force his preternatural sensitivity away..."

A Sensitive? It had been right in front of him the whole time. Knowing Sora had been right the whole time only made Riku feel more miserable. He should have been there more for him... He'd tried to support him, but... How could he have _really _helped Sora if he hadn't sensed what Sora had? How often had he really helped Sora? How many times had Sora lied to him and told him he was okay, when he hadn't been okay...? All those times... All those years together... No wonder Sora had been scared of the dark. He'd been completely alone.

"Neighbor is a werewolf... Boyfriend was a Sensitive... Boyfriend kidnapped by a vampire... Dog eaten by a zombie..." Riku sighed and looked up, glaring at Axel without much bite. "And what are _you_?"

The red-head merely smirked his mysterious smirk and turned, carrying the two heavy bags toward the entryway, the foul stench of death drifting after him in the air. Too despaired to really care, Riku watched after him silently.

"Axel's race isn't one to mess with," was all Auron said, and Riku wasn't going to object.

He glanced down the hallway, much like he had earlier that morning, and instead of scattered DVD cases and discolored carpet, Riku saw Sora's room as it usually was, as if the nightmare that had taken place last night had never really occurred. As if he could walk right into the room and see Sora sprawled out on the bed, grinning up at him.

The Cleaner had done a good job.

When Auron left to return to the front door, Riku followed, his heart sinking as if he were leaving his memories of Sora behind, not just his room. No, he'd try to preserve the image of Sora—the _real_ Sora, not the imaginings of what could have happened to him. As long as he could, that's what he wanted to remember, before he was forced to forget.

He felt empty inside as he and Auron watched Axel toss the black bags into the bed of his truck. The Cleaner returned to the house, hopping onto the porch and clapping his hands together when he saw Auron and Riku standing there waiting for him.

"Alright then!" he said, his grin a little wicked. "So, I've noticed that the kid knows next to nothing about the supernatural, and he's definitely not on record in headquarters."

"Yeah, he's a witness," Auron confirmed again.

"Great, does he need a memory wipe?" Axel asked. He almost sounded _excited_, like this was a highlight of his day or something.

Not wanting to hear it, Riku was silent as the two men spoke to each other.

Sliding a hand into his pocket, he pulled out the broken butterfly knife, studying it with a grim expression. Just three days ago, the weapon had been brand new, polished, and Sora had been a little nervous about it. Riku remembered trying to show him the ice pick drop, and teasing him about not being able to wield even a small knife like this.

_"A butterfly knife won't do much good against the boogeyman."_

And it hadn't. The blade had been snapped right off.

"...kid's boyfriend."

"So, bait then?"

"Something like that."

Axel sighed, at which point Riku started paying attention again. He tucked the knife back into his pocket and watched the two men, wondering what they were talking about.

"So it's a no, then?" the Cleaner asked, looking a little disappointed.

Auron's eye leveled on Riku, who blinked, confused. Something understanding flickered across the man's face as he gazed at Riku, and then he slowly turned back to Axel, shaking his head.

"That's a no," he confirmed.

"Damn, I was looking forward to a purging too."

Riku frowned, cutting in. "Wait, what?"

The red-head gave him a sharp look, apparently sizing him up. But then that smirk spread. "Well, I don't believe in it, but good luck, kid. You'll need it."

"What's going on?" Riku asked, glancing from Axel to Auron, something scared, uncertain, and hopeful building within him. "I'm not getting a memory wipe?"

Axel laughed and reached out, grabbing Riku's wrist, whose heart started racing in panic—was this it? the memory wipe? what was the guy doing? fuck, his grip was strong!—

But Axel just slapped an item into Riku's hand and released him.

"A present," he said. "Since you won't be forgetting."

Paopu's collar. Clean. Like it had just been bought... not been pulled off a mutilated corpse. Riku ran his fingers over the collar, the familiar jingling of the metal tags bringing tears to his eyes. He brought the collar up and clutched it to his chest, lowering his head to hide his tears as he fought back an audible sob.

"Nope, no memory wipe." Axel's hand ran through Riku's perfect hair, messing it up before he turned away, leaving the boy. He started picking up his tools from the floor. "Maybe some other day," he said as he tossed a few things back into his trunk. "I gotta get out of here fast and start taking care of the cover-ups."

As Auron remained silent, Riku continued to stand there, holding the collar to himself, just listening to the clunk of tools in the chest as Axel packed up. After a long moment, when the Cleaner began to drag his chest out onto the porch to leave, Riku turned to Auron and looked up at him, eyes misty but hopeful.

"I do believe you. It's hard not to believe," he admitted, voice sounding so weak and tired. He hesitated, swallowing the lump in his hoarse throat, and then licked his lips nervously. "If I'm not going to get a memory wipe, what do I do now? Without Sora...? I mean... how am I supposed to fit back in if I know the truth?"

"You're not going to fit back in," was Auron's simple reply as he headed for the open door. He paused in the threshold, gaze raised as if to take in the soft blue sky. From beyond him, the warm mid-morning air drifted into the house, easing some of Riku's uneasiness away.

"What do you mean?" Riku asked as he started to follow Auron, Paopu's collar clutched firmly in his hands.

"You have two hours to pack and return here. Minimum essentials. If you're not back by then, I'm leaving you behind."

Riku's breath caught in his throat as those words registered, and a cruel hope rose within him. "You're... taking me with you?"

Framed by the bright street beyond, Auron slowly turned to face him again, dark eye narrowing, serious. "There's a slim chance we might be able to get to Sora in time to recover him."

Riku's face immediately lit up, a desperate kind of hope swelling within him. "Seriously!" he cried, grabbing Auron's elbow and staring up at him with wide eyes. _Please don't be joking. Oh God, I'll do anything to get Sora back!_

"Calm down, kid," Auron warned, calmly tugging his elbow back. But despite his grave tone, something quirked at his mouth, something almost... amused. It vanished quickly, however, the man's face darkening considerably. "This will be more than just dangerous."

Dangerous. Yeah... Of course it would be.

Riku was just a nobody. But with Auron's help... or maybe a slayer or two, or whatever else they had at this mysterious Organization, Riku might be able to see Sora again. _Anything_ for that. That's all he wanted.

"I know," Riku breathed.

"Sora might already be dead," Auron added.

That too... But... Still, there was hope.

Riku nodded, closing his eyes and curling his free hand over his heart.

"I know."

"And if he _is_ dead..." Auron continued slowly, voice laced with caution. "We'll have to kill him a second time. Permanently."

Riku froze at that, the gravity of the situation hitting him again.

This was real. All of it was real.

And now, Riku wasn't afraid to believe it.

No...

Now there were more terrifying things awaiting him.

_That_ was reality.

"I know."

* * *

_fin?_

Yup, for Goodnight Moon. But—

Look for the **sequel**, a **co-write** written with **Dark Ki **under the group penname "**the machination**" (links in profile)—

The _prologue_ for the sequel has been posted as a double release! See you there!


End file.
